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Kilson (Jlub Publications. 



NUMBER NINE. 



* -t • * « * « * * * » tt * i> * rtk **■';■ i-l i!i ************ -I ****»*#***#* * 

THE 

Political Club 

Danville, Kentucky, 

1 7 86- 1 790. 

* *■*■** * * * !■> -M * * ifr ■:(! fti ■:(:- * * * * ^ * * * * ,tr -v # * * * * # ■>.- * ■:•: * * * ■:(• * eft i-i * * * « * * 

By 

Thomas Speed. 



^''^Oh'/t 



v^ 



FiLSON Club Publications Number 9. 



The Political Club 



DANVILLE, KENTUCKY 



1 786 -1 790 



BEING AN ACCOUNT OF AN EARLY KENTUCKY 

SOCIETY FROM THE ORIGINAL PAPERS 

RECENTLY FOUND. 



y 



By THOMAS SPEED, 

Author of "The Wilderness Road." 



LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: 
JOHN P. MORTON AND COMPANY, 

printers fo iU 5itson (Jltuf. 
1894 




iji.'^^l 



COPYRIGHTED BY 

John p. Morton cSi company. 
1894 






DEDICATION. 



/ dedicate tliese pages to Coder College, zchic/t for seveiity- 
Jive years //as been an lioiior to the State of Kentucky and the 
pride of the ton'ii of Danville. It teas my privilege to attend 
this institution as a sti/dent during the presidency of Dr. Lewis 
]V. Green, whose father icas a member of The Political Club, and 
my college days at Danville gave me a lasting attachment both 
for the school and the delightful place of its location. 

THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



FIFTEEN years ago it was my fortune to discover 
among my grandfather's papers the records of 
"The Political Club," a society which had its existence 
at Danville, Kentucky, from 1786 until 1790. I have 
often been requested to publish these records, together 
with some account of the work of the club, but it has 
not been convenient for me to do so until now. To 
meet expectation on this subject I prepared this work 
and read it before the Filson Club. 

I have felt that it is a duty I could not fail to 
perform. The existence of The Political Club is a 
chapter in Kentucky history worth}'^ of even more 
detailed treatment than is here given. Nothing that 
has been recorded of the pioneers so well illustrates 
their character for intelligence. Professor Shaler, in his 
History of Kentucky, published in 1885, says: "The 
early records of Kentucky are too imperfect to afford 



vi PREFACE. 

any clear insight into the condition of education or the 
intellectual motives of the pioneers. Recently, however, 
there has been disinterred a quantity of papers giving 
the record of a Political Club that existed at Danville 
from 1786 to 1790." . . . "The notes of this club give 
a very fair idea of the intellectual quality of its meet- 
ings. For several 3-ears, or until the changes of the 
shifting population removed its leaders far from their 
original abodes, this club industriously debated the ques- 
tions of polity that concerned the settlements." 

There is no historic mention of "The Political Club" 
prior to finding the records, nor was there any tradition 
of its existence; the old papers alone have preserved it 
from oblivion. Perhaps this is not strange under the 
circumstances. There was no newspaper to publish its 
meetings and discussions. Besides, what occurred at the 
meetings was not publicly known, as none were admitted 
except the members. When the club ceased to exist 
many of the members removed from Danville to other 
places in the State, and other interests superseded 
thought or memory of the club meetings. 

The historian, Humphrey Marshall, knew of the club, 
though as he was not a member he could not have 



PREFACE. vii 

known particularly of its work. It was not at all likely 
that the later historian, Butler, knew of the club at all, 
and Collins, though his history contains much in detail 
of every county in the State, failed to discover that there 
had been such a society at Danville. 

The preparation for public service which the club 
gave to the body of men composing it was so soon 
made use of, and the ideas developed there so quickly 
embodied in the first State Constitution, that the club 
debates were overshadowed by real legislation. But it was 
these debates that laid the foundation of the practical 
usefulness of the actors in this legislation. 

The sketches of the members show that for more 
than a quarter of a century they took a leading part in 
affairs in Kentucky. Going out from the sessions of 
the club to engage in the public transactions of the 
day, they made an impression upon the times, but the 
club itself, to which they owed so much for training in 
political knowled-ge, was lost sight of and forgotten. 

In the preparation of this work I have deemed it 
advisable to point out some of the reasons, and partic- 
ularly those of a geographical nature, which brought 
the town of Danville to the forefront in the early 



viii PREFACE. 

days, and made it the place for the existence of a 
society like The Political Club. 

Following the suggestions offered on this subject, 
sketches of the members are given. Many of them are 
so well known, however, that biographical mention is 
almost unnecessary. Some account of their descendants 
is also shown. Following these sketches the work of 
the club is presented. 

I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to the Pres- 
ident of the Filson Club, Colonel R. T. Durrett, for 
suggestions, and for assistance in finding in his full 
collection of historical works facts which could not be 
found in any other collection. 

For information concerning the members of the 
club and their descendants, I am indebted to Colonel 
Thomas M. Green personally, and to his valuable work, 
"Historic Families of Kentucky." 

I am also indebted to Judge James S. Pirtle and 
Judge W. Overton Harris, of the Louisville Bar, and in 
general I acknowledge my indebtedness to the members 
of the Filson Club. 

Louisville, Ky., October i, 1894. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Early Kentucky, i-8 

Climate, Soil, People, 2 

Inducements to Settlement, 3 

Attractions, 4 

The Great Immigration, 5 

Incidents of Removal to the West 6 

Character of the Pioneers, 7 

The Kentucky Woods 12-16 

Grandeur of the Forest 13 

Descriptions, 14 

The Traveled Ways, 17-19 

From Limestone to Crab Orchard 17 

From Mouth of Licking to Crab Orchard 18 

From Falls of the Ohio to Crab Orchard, 18 

Danville the Gate City, 19 

Location of Danville, 19-3° 

The Center of the State, but at the Southeast Corner of the 

Portion First Settled, 16 

Influence of the Wilderness Road, 21 

Population of Kentucky in 1790, 23 

The Town of Washington (note), 23 

Pioneer Stations near Danville, 25 

Situation of Danville, 25 

Founding of Danville (note), 167 

Early Settlement in this Section, 26 

First Court Held at Danville, 27 

Place of Holding Conventions 27 

Transylvania Seminary, 27 

Center College 29 

Danville Theological Seminary 3° 

Influence of Railroads, 3° 



X CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Formation of The Political Club 31-37 

No Record or Tradition of the Club 32 

Accidental Finding of the Papers 33 

Major Beatty's Diary, 33 

Mention of the Club after Discovery of the Papers, 35 

The Members of the Club, 38-41 

List of Members, 38 

General Characteristics, 39-4' 

Sketches of the Members, 42-97 

Harry Inues, 42 

Thomas Todd 45 

George Muter, 47 

Abraham Buford, 50 

Robert Dougherty, 52 

Christopher Greenup, 53 

Samuel McDowell, 56 

William McDowell, 62 

John Brown 63 

James Brown 66 

James Speed, 66 

Thomas Speed, 69 

Willis Green, 70 

Stephen Ormsby, 74 

Matthew Walton, 75 

Thomas Allin, 77 

Peyton Short 77 

.-William Kennedy, 79 

William McCIuug, 81 

Gabriel Jones Johnston, 82 

Joshua Barbee 83 

John and James Overton 84 

Baker Ewing 89 

Benjamin Sebastian, 90 

John Belli 91 

Peter Tardeveau, . . 93 

Robert Craddock, 95 

James Nourse, 95 

David Walker, 96 



CONTENTS. xi 

PAGE. 

Object of the Club 97-100 

Position and Influence of the Members 98 

Period Through Which They Lived, 99 

Organization and Minutes 100-155 

First Meeting, loi 

Constitution of the Club 102 

Rules of the Club 105 

Navigation of the Mississippi, 107 

Separation from Virginia in 

Separation on Terms of the Act, 112 

Representation by Numbers or Counties, 114 

Resolution as to Persons Attending after Being Elected, ... 116 

Periods of Election, 116-118 

Committee Appointed to Prepare Form of Government for 

Kentucky, 118 

Right of Indians to the Soil, 120 

Resolution as to Admission of Members, 121 

Expatriation, 122 

Suffrage, 125 

Capital Punishment, 126 

Impressment of Arms 128 

Culture of Tobacco, 129 

-- Power of Courts to Adjudge Legislative Acts Unconstitutional, 130 

Intermarriage with Indians, 134. '35 

Powers of Second Branch of the Legislature, 136 

Uniting with Cumberland, 137 

One or Two Branches of Legislature ? I39 

Period of Elections, 141 

Emission of Paper Currency 142 

■- Discussion of the Constitution of the United States, 143 

" The Club Revision of that Instrument 145 

-' Resolutions Concerning Federal Constitution, 146 

"Enforce" or "Execute" Laws by Militia, 148 

Ineligibility of the President after One Term I49 

Ineligibility of Senators 150 

Existing Laws as to Citizenship 150 

, Slavery and Slave Trade 151 



Xll 



CONTENTS. 



Organization and Minutes — Continued. page. 

Tobacco as a Commutable for Taxes, 151 

Polygamy 152 

Laws as to Citizenship, 152 

Resolution as to Members not in the Neighborhood of Danville, 152 

Places of Meeting of the Club, 152 

Treasurer's Accounts I53 

Humors of the Club 154 

Books Brought out in "Packs," 156 

High Character of the Members, i57 

Intelligence of the Pioneers I57 

Kentucky Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge 15S 

Manufacturing, 1581 ^59 

Schools and Churches, I59 

Spanish Intrigues, 160 

Devotion to the Union, 161 

Influence of Political Club on First Kentucky Constitution, .... 162 

Devotion of the Members to Cause of Good Government, 165 

Note 167 



The Political Club. 



Early Kentucky. 

THE events in the earl}' history of Kentucky are 
invested with that peculiar fascination which be- 
longs to heroic and romantic periods. 

The people of the present generation look back to 
the pioneer days with feelings somewhat akin to the 
memories of their own childhood. The}^ read of Daniel 
Boone and his times very much as they read old leg- 
endary romances. In the hazy distance of a hundred 
years ago men assume heroic proportions, and their 
deeds excite wonder. But there is a realit}' in these 
Kentucky annals which gives them a charm above the 
mere fanciful. The assurance of veritable history gives 
an irresistible interest to narrations which also have 
features of the marvelous. 

This singular fascination, which is found in the 
accounts of the pioneer days of Kentucky, springs from 
a combination of conditions which attended the occupa- 
tion of the country by the white man. 



2 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

The climate was propitious ; it is the most delight- 
ful part of the temperate zoue. Having neither too 
great heat nor cold it was favorable to out-door life, 
which, to a great extent, was necessarily the lot of the 
pioneers. The country was covered with woods, which 
gave shelter against the winds and afforded material 
for fuel and house-building. In the woods of Kentucky 
Robin Hood would have found a boundless expansion 
of Sherwood Forest. The land itself was extremely 
fertile, and so drained b}' nature that the soil was dry 
and easily cultivated, while springs and running streams 
afforded an abundant supply of water. 

The people who settled Kentucky were families from 
the Atlantic States, of substance and education, being 
of the best stock and having the refinements of society. 
Yet it was their fortune to undergo hardships of the 
severest sort and face dangers that were frightful. 
They had to endure bereavements and losses, and make 
their wilderness homes at the cost of blood and tears. 
Thus there came aboiit in the great immigration which 
settled Kentucky in the days between 1775 and 1792 a 
remarkable conjunction of circumstances as to people, 
country, and climate. 

The explorations and adventures of Doctor Thomas 
Walker, Christopher Gist, Daniel Boone, Stewart, and 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 3 

Finley, and the " Long Hunters," together with those 
of Simon Kenton, Benjamin Logan, Richard Henderson, 
and many others, are all as thrilling as any romance, 
with the added interest of being real occurrences. The 
settlement of Kentucky, which closely followed these ex- 
ploits, furnishes incidents not less interesting. Placing 
ourselves one hundred and twenty years back, we find 
a deep meaning in the statement that the settlements 
in Kentucky were in the wilderness. It was a wilder- 
ness of magnificent distances, being so vast in extent 
that for all practical purposes it might be described as 
boundless. Eastward the habitations of men were beyond 
the mountains ; to the west all was unknown ; north lay 
the unoccupied regions to the lakes and beyond ; south- 
ward all was desolate to the Gulf. In the heart of this 
limitless wilderness the Kentucky Commonwealth grew 
up while all the surrounding land remained unbroken 
and untouched. 

The " Land of Kentucke," as the country was called 
by the explorers, had many rare attractions, which have 
often been described. It lay on the waters of a beau- 
tiful river, and possessed inducements for occupation 
second to no spot on the earth. Yet it was hid away, 
like a jewel in an unopened mine, up to the very period 
of its sudden settlement. One writer describes it thus : 



4 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

" Covered with boundless forests and protected by Alpine 
barriers terrific to the eye, and almost inaccessible to 
the most adventurous foot, this lovely country remained 
unexplored until Boone and his associates resolved to 
subdue and people it." * 

The people east of the mountains knew, indeed, that 
there was land extending far away toward the west, but 
for aught they knew the mountains continued on and 
on in wild, inhospitable, and uninhabitable grandeur 
without a break. The}' did not know that a delightful 
region lay spread out upon the southern tributaries of 
the Ohio like the garden of the Lord for beaut}' and 
fertility. 

This secluded and hid-away condition of Kentucky 
has been beautifully described in verse by Henry T. 
Stanton, in his Centennial Ode : 

Shut out from civil bound by rivers deep, 
By forests dark, and mountains high and steep, 
By rocks, ravines, and rude, forbidding lines 
Of gnarled laurels and of tangled vines, 
The Unknown Land, that on the sunset rim 
Stretched over distance limitless and dim, 
Lay, with its spread of plain and vale and hill, 
Bej'ond the ej'e, mysterious and still. 

To daring hunter and explorer bold 
Unbroken stood the fastness of its hold, 

»Hall. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 5 

While, sotith and westward, dimly stretched away, 
With range on range the bristled mountains lay, 
The Blue Ridge, Smoky, Clinch, and Cumberland, 
Toward the sky, precipitous and grand, 
As if to bar from man's ambitious quests 
The dark beyond, upheld their cloud-hid crests. 
With no brave hand to grasp and put aside 
The thorny hedging of its thickets wide. 
And no sure foot to make its toilsome trail 
From peak to farther peak, and vale to vale ; 
For centuries this now historic bound 
Remained to civil man untrodden ground. 

The great immigration which suddenly made Ken- 
tucky a State in the Union began abotit the close of the 
Revohitionary War, but the whole period of seventeen 
years from 1775 to 1792 constitutes the peculiarly heroic 
or romantic age of Kentucky. It was the immigration 
in this period which established the power of the white 
man in the western country. It pierced and broke the 
center of the barriers which had barred the west against 
occupation. It divided the Indians north from those in 
the sottth ; it operated as a flank movement upon the 
powerful tribes which occttpied the choicest portions of 
New York and Pennsylvania, and caused them to give 
way before the advance of civilization. It made the 
vast territory of the West, including Ohio, Indiana, and 
Illinois, vulnerable to settlement, and opened the way 
to Tennessee and Alabama.* 

* wilderness Road. 



6 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

The contemplation of families of people in Kentucky 
during the earlier period of the immigration brings to 
the mind a continuous series of exciting scenes — the 
breaking up of the homes and associations east of the 
Alleghanies ; the excitement attending the proposed re- 
moval ; the perils and hardships of the long journey. 
We follow them along the toilsome way ; the first stages 
lead upward to the tops of the mountains, where the 
streams which run westward begin to take their rise. 
Then comes the descent by the rugged passages through 
vast solitudes, either to Cumberland Gap or to the 
Ohio River ; then the dangerous descent of the river, 
or wearisome travel over the equally dangerous trace 
through the mountains of Kentucky. The arrival at 
the destined end of the journey was at no town or set- 
tlement, it was only a halt in a solitude. The hastily 
constructed cabins clustered about common centers called 
stations, which were stockades intended for refuge from 
Indian attacks. Subsisting on the bare necessities of 
life, in constant dread, fighting for their lives, nursing 
the wounded, burying the slain ; men, women, and child- 
dren spent their days and nights, weeks, months, and 
years, until a State was evolved at a period when the 
greater portions of New York and Pennsylvania, and 
even Virginia, were untouched by the hand of civiliza- 
tion. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 7 

The boldness, energy, hardihood, self-denial, and 
perseverance of the pioneers have often been described. 
Their bravery in Indian fighting, skill and sagacity in 
hunting, their wonderful powers of endurance have been 
the theme of many writers. But it is not alone in such 
accounts of the early days in Kentucky that we find 
extraordinary interest. There are facts and features of 
those early days which have not received their full 
share of attention from the historian, which are of the 
deepest interest to those whose more thoughtful minds 
seek for the philosoph}' of remarkable events occurring 
among mankind. 

The pioneers were more than hunters and fighters. 
They were a people who brought into intelligent order 
the original and elementary material of a State ; they 
erected from the very elements of social life an organ- 
ized Commonwealth. They did their work under many 
difficulties, and in the face of many discouragements ; 
and, it may be added, they resisted inducements to form 
other connections than that of the newly formed union 
of the States. Every thing connected with this work 
of State building in the wilderness is full of interest. 

These pages will set forth a chapter of this early 
history which, from causes to be made to appear, has 
not been heretofore written ; and this long forgotten 



8 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

and newly discovered feature in the early annals of 
Kentucky will be found to have an interest second to 
nothing else bearing upon her first civic afifairs. 

Location of the First Settlers. 

Preliminary to an account of "The Political Club," 
it will be interesting to consider some of the facts and 
conditions of the times and place of its existence. 

In the spring of 1775 Daniel Boone marked out the 
trace which soon became the Wilderness Road. This 
was the route by which immigrants came to Kentucky 
"overland" or through the mountains. They entered 
the State at Cumberland Gap, and by that road made 
their wa}^ to the interior. At the time this trace was 
made there were no settlers in the country of Kentucky. 
From that time until the close of the Revolutionary 
War in 1783, a period of eight years, the immigration, 
while not so rapid as it afterward became, yet resulted 
in a population of over twenty thousand. The close of 
the war led to a greatly increased interest in the western 
country, and from that time until 1792, and later, the 
immigration was so remarkable it is best described as 
a movement of population.* In 1790 there were more 

*In a document transmitted by Lord Dorchester to Lord Sydney in Eng- 
land, 1789, it is said: "The last census of the people (in Kentucky), taken in 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 9 

than sev'enty-five thousand inhabitants in Kentucky. In 
five more years that number was about doubled. 

The geographical distribution of the first settlers is 
a subject of great interest. What attractions were most 
powerful? What portion of the State was first occu- 
pied ? Did the early settlers scatter themselves generally 
over the extensive territory which now constitutes the 
State of Kentucky, or did they cluster together in some 
favored portion of it? 

If the reader will take a map of Kentucky and draw 
a line from Maysville to Crab Orchard, and another line 
from Louisville to Crab Orchard, it will be seen that 
the two lines form almost a right angle. Taking then 
the course of the Ohio River from Maysville to Cincin- 
nati, and from thence to Louisville, a body of land is 
included almost square, and about one hundred miles 
in extent each way. It contains about ten thousand 
square miles, and is larger than the State of Massachu- 
setts. The countr}? b'iii& ^^.st of the line from Maysville 
to Crab Orchard begins to be hilly and soon becomes 

178S, amounted to 62,000 souls, including a much greater portion of adult 
males than is usually to be looked for in a common estimation of this nature, 
to which great additions have been made since, the writer having seen five 
hundred persons at Limestone who had just landed or arrived there in the 
course of two days — the time of his staj- — besides a constant influx of fami- 
lies he met on the high road." (See Colonel John Mason Brown's " Political 
Beginnings," Appendix.) 

3 



lo THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

mountainoiis. Also southwardly of the line from Louis- 
ville to Crab Orchard lies the broken country of the 
Muldraugh Hill range, which, beginning in the semi- 
mountainous section near Crab Orchard, extends across 
the State to the Ohio River a little below the Falls at 
Louisville. 

Within the square described the land is generally 
level or gently undulating, almost all of excellent qual- 
ity and admirably adapted to cultivation. It well merits 
the encomiums it received from the earl}' explorers. It 
is traversed by the Kentucky, the Licking, and Salt 
rivers and their numberless tributaries. Two sides of 
the square are washed by the Ohio River. It now com- 
prises thirty-six counties, twelve of which border on the 
Ohio River. The world - famous Bluegrass land lies 

/ within this area, constituting a large part of it. Those 

v 

portions which do not properlj' come under the desig- 
nation of "Bluegrass" are yet like it in respect to 
being gently undulating and of fertile soil. 

The first- settlers naturally sought this singularly 
favored bod}' of land. It was this section which Daniel 
Boone called "xA. Second Paradise," and Felix Walker, 
a companion of Boone, tells in his diary how, after 
leaving the mountains, " we began to discover the 
pleasing and rapturous appearance of the plains of 



/ 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. ii 

Kentucky." Colonel Richard Henderson, who came out 
over Boone's trace the same spring it was opened, 
speaks of leaving the Rockcastle hills and " camping in 
the eye of the rich lands." John Filson, writing in 
1784, says: "By casting the eye upon the map and 
viewing that great compass of about one hundred miles 
square is seen the most extraordinary country the sun 
enlightens with his celestial beams." 

The "level lands" of Kentucky were first reached 
by the immigrants who came over the Wilderness Road 
at Crab Orchard, which was not far from the spot which 
became the site of Danville. The immigrants who came 
down the Ohio River first reached the level lands at 
the landing-place called Limestone, afterward Maysville. 
While some landed there others proceeded on and landed 
at the mouth of Licking River or Kentucky River, or at 
the Falls of the Ohio. From these river gate-ways, as 
well as from the entrance at Crab Orchard, the settlers 
spread themselves over the area described. Having nat- 
urally passed beyond the mountainous country before 
landing at Limestone, they as naturally did not pass 
down the river beyond the Falls, where navigation was 
impeded. Nor did they go into or beyond the rough 
country of the Muldraugh Hill range as long as they 
could find eligible locations without doing so. 



12 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

The following extract from Shaler's History of Ken- 
tucky confirms the foregoing statements : 

" In the middle section of the State, stretching from the Ohio 
River to the escarpment of Muldraugh Hill, lay the rich lands 
since known as the ' Bluegrass ' district ; west of them the unwooded 
district known as the Barrens, which were at first supposed from 
their treeless condition to be worthless lands ; and still further west 
a tract of sandy country like that of the easternmost district — good 
lands, it is true, but not rich enough to attract the first settlers. 
It was this bluegrass land that was the incentive to immigration. 
. . . After the Bluegrass district was occupied the population 
began to move to the less attractive lands." 



The Kentucky Woods. 

At the coming of the white race the whole of this 
region was a dense woods. No more magnificent forest 
ever adorned the face of the earth. It was not excelled 
even in the imaginings of poetry and romance. Bvery 
conceivable grandeur of forest scenery was displayed. 

"The loftie trees, yclad with sommer's pride. 
Did spread so broad that Heaven's light did hide." 

From the margins of the streams to the tops of the 
hills, on the slopes and the outspread plateaus stood 
the finest timber of oak, poplar, ash, chestnut, hickory, 
sugar - tree, beech, walnut, mulberry, wild cherry, and 



THE POLiriCAL CLUB. 13 

many other varieties, all evidencing the rich, strong 
soil beneath. 

As the primeval forest of Kentucky has been so 
destroyed that all its original grandeur has disappeared, 
it is worth more than a passing mention in this work, 
which is intended to bring to view transactions which 
occurred before the destruction took place. Many writei'S 
have endeavored to present to the mind a picture of the 
Kentucky woods. Professor Shaler says: "This forest 
territory was singularly unbroken, having a continuity of 
woods unknown in the other States." He says: "This 
forest was principally of the broad-leaved tree, no great 
extent of coniferous woods existing then in the eastern 
part of the District. Fortunately for the settlers the 
broad -leaved trees were of old growth, and singularly 
open beneath, so that the early trackways and wagon 
roads were easily made through them." This is a cor- 
rect statement, as many now living, and who in their 
earlier years traversed portions of these forests un- 
broken at that date, can testify. The long stems of 
the trees, measuring from fifty to one hundred feet in 
height, and from three to six feet in diameter, sus- 
tained a leafy canopy, the shade of which prevented 
undergrowth and produced the solemn cathedral-like 
impression often mentioned. 



14 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

Colonel Diirrett in his centennial address takes the 
distinction between the timber-shadowed land and the 
more open spaces where a lower growth was found. He 
says: "Over an area that millions might inhabit, of 
mountain and hill, and plain and valley, stands a dark 
forest. . . . Here and there where the trees cast not 
their shadow the cane and the clover and the rye and 
the bluegrass cover the soil like emerald isles in the 
forest seas." 

In the singularly weird story of early Kentucky days 
by Doctor Robert M. Byrd, entitled "Nick of the Woods," 
he says: "The forest was of the grand and gloomy char- 
acter which the fertility of the soil and the absence of 
the axe for a thousand years imprinted on the western 
woodlands. Oaks, poplars, elms, walnuts, and beeches, 
with other monarchs of the wilderness, lifted their 
trunks like so many pillars, and swung their majestic 
arms far overhead." 

Roosvelt in his "Winning of the West" uses very 
graphic expressions on this subject. He says the coun- 
try "had been shielded by the forest which lay over 
the land like an unrent mantle. All through the moun- 
tains and far beyond it stretched without a break." 

Speaking of the Indians, he says: "Their wars were 
carried on in the never-ending stretches of gloomy 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 15 

woodland. . . . To their keen eyes, trained for genera- 
tions to more than a wild beast's watchfulness, the 
wilderness was an open book; nothing at rest or in 
motion escaped them. They had begun to track game 
as soon as the}' could walk; a scrape on a tree or the 
soil, which the eye of no white man could see, all told 
them a tale as plainlj' as if it had been shouted in 
their ears." 

Speaking of the white men, he says: "Up to the 
door-sills of their log huts stretched the solemn and 
mysterious forest. There were no openings to break 
its continuity; nothing but endless leagues on leagues 
of shadowy, wolf-haunted woodland. The great trees 
towered aloft till their separate heads were lost in 
the mass of foliage above. . . . The sunlight could 
not penetrate the roofed archway of murmuring leaves; 
through the gray aisles of the forest men walked always 
in a kind of midday gloaming. Here and there it was 
broken by a rare hillside glade, or by a meadow or a 
stream valley ; but elsewhere a man might travel for 
weeks as in a perpetual twilight, never once able to see 
the sun through the interlacing twigs that formed a 
dark canopy above the head." 

It was a true appreciation of the fearful significanc}^ 
of dense forests up to the very doors of the settlers' 



i6 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

cabins that inspired our Kentucky poet* to write the 
beautiful poem which he entitled, "The Mothers of Our 
Forest Land."t 

The first implement called in requisition by the 
settler was the axe. Wherever he chose to make his 
wilderness home it was necessary to clear the land of 
heavy timber before even a few vegetables could be 
grown or a corn patch planted. Game was abundant 
in the woods, and springs and creeks were everywhere 
found. Generally speaking, it may be said that all 
parts of the country included in the lines stated Avere 
attractive to the early settlers, and, as all the soil was 
new, the differences as to the fertility of the first clear- 
ings were not so apparent as in after years, when long- 
continued cultivation had tested the enduring qualities 
of the soil. 

* W. D. Gallagher. 

1 While this noble forest has beeu practically destroyed, there yet remain 
fine specimens here and there of the old trees. The following extract from 
a volume entitled " Trees and Tree-planting," by General James S. Brisbin, 
U. S. A., strikingly shows the impression the sight of some remnants of the 
Kentucky forest can make upon strangers. General Brisbin says : " For four 
years I had lived on the plains, surrounded by sage-brush and sand, never 
once seeing a mountain or a forest. Then I was ordered east with troops 
to Kentucky. We had been running very fast all night in the cars, and in 
the morning I heard the soldiers in the forward coaches cheering. I asked 
the conductor what was the matter, and he replied, " The soldiers are cheer- 
ing the trees." We all hastened to the doors and windows, and there sure 
enough found we were running through a grand old Kentucky forest ; and 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 17 



The Traveled Ways. 

Leading through this vast interminable forest under 
the perpetual shadow of the trees were the traveled 
ways or traces along which the pioneers made their 
toilsome journeyings. With natural engineering skill 
these roads were marked out along the high ground or 
ridges, avoiding miry places and impassable hills. The 
course was shaped so as to pass some ever -flowing 
spring, and so as to lead to the fording -places of the 
streams, descending and ascending from them by the 
easiest slopes. iVlong these roads stations were located, 
rude stockade forts into which the settlers would hastily 
gather in time of danger from Indians. 

One of these traveled ways extended from Limestone, 
now Maysville, on the Ohio River, to Crab Orchard, 
passing through the eastern portions of the level lands, 

it was indeed a most beautiful sight.. It had rained the night before, and 
the dripping trees shone like silver in the newly risen sun; grape vines 
hung in heavy festoons from the arms of giant oaks; woodbines clung 
about their trunks; the grass on the earth was green as emerald; and so I 
longed to jump from the cars, lie down on it, and roll over and over, and 
shout for very joy. 

"Thank God for noble trees! 

How stately strong and grand 
These bannered giants lift their crests 
O'er all this beauteous land." 
4 



1 8 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

though some distance from the mountain region.* An- 
other was the extension of the Old Wilderness Road 
which led through the mountains from Cumberland 
Gap to Crab Orchard, and on to the Falls of the Ohio, 
passing the present sites of Lebanon, Bardstown, and 
Shepherdsville. Along its course the Muldraugh Hill 
range could be seen bounding the level lands toward the 
southwest. Another road extended from Crab Orchard 
through the present site of Harrodsburg, crossing Ken- 
tucky River near the present site of Frankfort, and 
thence along the great divide between the waters of 
Kentucky and Licking rivers to the mouth of the 
Licking, opposite which Fort Washington was built, at 
the present site of Cincinnati. Another historic trav- 
eled way led from Crab Orchard southwardly through 
the hills to the settlements in Tennessee. 

It thus appears that as all the roads east of Cum- 
berland Gap converged to that great natural gate-way 
in the mountains, so when the mountains of Kentucky 
were passed all the roads diverged from Crab Orchard, 

« As late as 1825, and perhaps later, goods in great quantities were hauled 
from Limestone through Lexington and Danville, and passing on over the 
Wilderness Road through Cumberland Gap to be carried down the Tennessee 
Valley to Alabama. The goods were wagoned to Pittsburgh, thence carried 
by flatboats to Limestone, and thence wagoned, as stated, into Alabama. 
Accounts are now given by the older citizens of Danville of trains of wagons 
passing through, covered with canvas, drawn by six horses with bells on the 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 19 

the point of debouching from the mountains. All travel 
concentered upon these two points. From the Gap the 
travelers going eastward diverged into the ways to Vir- 
ginia and the Carolinas, and from Crab Orchard the 
divergence was into the level lands of Kentucky. 

Danville, which was located near Crab Orchard, soon 
became the proud little gate city, standing like the 
pupil in the focal point of the Crab Orchard region, 
which Colonel Henderson called the "eye of the level 
lands of Kentucky."* It is thus seen that Danville, 
instead of being centrally located in the area of the 
level lands, was situated in its extreme southeast corner. 



Location of Danville. 

While it is true that Danville is the geographical 
center of the State, it was in a corner of that portion 
of the State first settled; yet Danville was the most 
important point in Kentucky in the early days. It was 
the first capital. It was the place where the District 

harness. Ivarge droves of hogs and mules were driven over the road destined 
for the markets in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Alabama. 

*It is curious that upou large maps which show mountain ranges, these 
ranges curve at the Crab Orchard region so as to resemble somewhat a 
human eye. 



20 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

Court held its meetings, that being the first court estab- 
lished in Kentucky, and its jurisdiction was co-extensive 
with the entire District. It was the place where Colonel 
Benjamin Logan called the militia officers to assemble 
in November, 1784, to take into consideration the affairs 
of the District, and the place where all the subsequent 
conventions were held until Kentucky became a State 
and was admitted into the Union. 

The lack of urban conditions and privileges in Ken- 
tuck}^ is strikingly brought to the mind by the facts 
attending the location of the District Court at the 
point which became Danville. That court was first 
established at Harrodsburg, a station ten miles east of 
the site of Danville ; but there being no building suit- 
able for the purpose, and it being necessary to erect 
one, it was determined to select some safe place and 
build a log house large enough for the purposes of the 
court, and also a jail of sawed or hewed logs.* The 

*"The Attorney-General and Clerk were directed to fix on some safe place 
near Crow's Station (near which Danville was located) for holding the court. 
They were authorized to procure a log house large enough to accommodate 
the court in one end and two juries in the other. They were likewise to con- 
tract for building a jail of hewed or sawed logs at least nine inches thick. 
This arrangement for buildings so suitable to the poverty of the mechanic 
arts at this time gave rise to the town of Danville, which continued the seat 
of the District Court and was the place of meeting for all the early public 
assemblies of Kentucky." — Butler. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 21 

.place chosen was near Crow's Station, and tliis gave 
rise to tlie laying out of Danville in 1784.* 

The reason for the favorable consideration of the 
locality of Danville unquestionably was its situation 
with reference to the "Wilderness Road." 

The influence of that highway iipon the settlements 
in Kentucky was very great. More immigrants came 
by that route than by the Ohio River. All return 
travel was by that way. The records of that day show 
that the most direct and expeditious routes from Fort 
Washington (the present site of Cincinnati), and also 
from Limestone (afterward Maysville), and from the 
Falls of the Ohio, to Philadelphia were through the 
country to Crab Orchard, and thence by the Wilderness 
Road through Cumberland Gap. 

Among the interesting facts of the early days were 
the published notices from time to time to the effect 
that a party of men would, upon a given date, start 
from Crab Orchard to go on the journey to the East 
through the great wilderness. Letters and messages 

■ I searched in vain for some historic mention of the location of Crow's 
Station. I obtaiued from Honorable R. P. Jacob, of Danville, the information 
that Crow's Station was east of Danville, and within three miles of the town. 
His information was obtained from Mr. N. D. Logan, who was born in the 
neighborhood, and who knew of its location from his father, who was one 
of the early settlers and died at an advanced age. Mr. Jacob also learned 
of the location of Crow's Station from Mr. B. O. Rhodes, who derived his 



22 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

were sent from all parts of Kentucky to friends beyond 
the mountains by these parties, and those who wished 
to make the trip in person would join with them for 
protection and company.* 

Another fact, which would scarcel}^ be credited except 
that it is attested by official records, shows the impor- 
tance of this great highway. In 1794, Kentucky then 
being a State in the Union, a post-route was established, 
by which the mail was carried down the Ohio River to 
Limestone (Maysville), thence through Lexington to 
Danville, and thence by way of Bardstown to Louisville, 
thus following that portion of Boone's old trace which 
led from the Gap through Crab Orchard to the Falls 
of the Ohio.* 

Some idea of the distribution of the first settlers 
in Kentuck}^ may be had by a consideration of the 
statistics found in the census of 1790 and other 
sources. In that year the nine counties into which 
Kentucky was then divided, with their populations, were 
as follows : 

information from Mr. Wm. Baughman, whose father once owned the Crow farm. 
I learned from Honorable John W. Yerkes, of Danville, that on this farm is a 
stone dwelling built by Mr. Crow, and that he was buried on the place. A 
head-stone bears the inscription, "William Crow, born March, 1755, died 
January 3, 1821." 

''Wilderness Road. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 23 

Bourbon y,83o 

Fayette, 18,410 

Jeiferson 4_765 

Lincoln, 6,548 

Madison 5,772 

Mason, 2,729 

Mercer 7^091 

Nelson, ii.'^i'i 

Woodford, 9,210 

The only towns mentioned in that census are five, 
with populations as follows : 

Lexington, 834 

* Washington 462 

Bardstown, 216 

Louisville, 350 

Danville, 150 

The counties of Fayette and Nelson had the great- 
est population.f Washington, then the county seat of 

* The town of Washington grew up four miles from the river, on account 
of the difficult}' of large wagons loaded with goods for the interior ascend- 
ing the steep road leading up to the high ground. Goods were conveyed 
to the top of the hill in smaller quantities and there loaded into the great 
wagons. The town grew rapidly, and handsome brick residences, stores, 
churches, schools, and banks were built. Traffic by steam power diverted the 
business. Washington declined, and has almost disappeared, and the river 
town of Maysville took its place. 

t In the document transmitted by Lord Dorchester to Lord Sydney, in 
England, 17S9, entitled "Observations Upon the Colony of Kentucky," it is 
said: "Danville, the seat of the convention and considered at present the 
capital, is situated in the interior country, upwards of eighty miles east of 



24 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

Mason, Lexington, the county seat of Fayette, Louis- 
ville, the county seat of Jefferson, and Bardstown, the 
county seat of Nelson, were the largest towns. Fayette 
County, being centrally located, received immigrants 
from all the river gate-ways above the Falls, but those 
who landed at the Falls proceeded along the road which 
led through Shepherdsville to Bardstown, and thence to 
Danville. This traveled way out from the Falls was, as 
we have seen, the extension of the Wilderness Road. 
The country along this way of travel was early settled, 
Nelson County being next in population to Fayette. 

The situation of Danville with respect to early travel 
is illustrated by the following statement in a paper 
entitled "Observations Upon the Colony of Kentucky," 
dated 1789, found in the Canadian Archives, and pub- 
lished for the first time in "The Political Beginnings," 
by Colonel John Mason Brown : 

the Ohio, in a part well inhabited and improved. It contains upward of one 
hundred and fifty houses, and some tolerablj- good buildings." The same 
paper says "Lexington has two hundred houses and Harrodstown one hun- 
dred." It also saj's "Bourbon is a small town thirty miles from Lexington, 
and Washington a long, straggling place in one street on each side of the 
great State road, within five miles of Limestone;" also "Limestone is on the 
south side of the Ohio, about five hundred miles below Pittsburgh, and is 
the general landing-place of all immigrants from the Atlantic States, from 
whence they proceed into the interior countrj- and disperse either to the 
right or to the left of the great State road to form their improvements." 
(See Colonel Brown's "Political Beginnings.") 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 25 

"The distance from Louisville, the most westerly settlement of 
Kentucky, to Limestone, the most easterly, is by the route of Dan- 
ville about one hundred and ninety miles, traveling on a large and 
very good carriage road, both sides of which generally speaking are 
tolerably inhabited and in some places good improvements."* 

This shows that the way of travel from the Falls of 
the Ohio to Limestone was by way of Danville. 

A number of pioneer stations had been built in the 
section of country in which Danville became a town. 
Within a radius of twenty miles or less they were more 
numerous than in any other area of like size in Ken- 
tucky. Among them were Harrod's, Crow's, Carpenter's, 
Casey's, Craig's, Gilmer's, McKinney's, Whitley's, Wil- 
son's, Worthington's, St. Asaph's, Knob Lick, Dough- 
erty's, and others. 

Danville was laid out as a town near Crow's Station 
in 1 78 1 by Walker Daniel, who was killed three years 
later by Indians. Its location gave it an importance 
more than commensurate with its populousness. The 
country about it could hardly be surpassed in beauty and 
fertility by any in all that magnificent body of land 
bearing the proud designation of " The Bluegrass." The 
locality was perfect in soil, timber, and water. Twenty 
miles away in a southeast direction lay Crab Orchard, 

* Political Beginnings. 



26 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

the rendezvous and starting-place, as we have seen, for 
all return travel to the States; but Crab Orchard was 
not sufficiently advanced from the rough country to be 
favored like Danville with the best features of the best 
Kentucky land. Ten miles nearer was Logan's Fort, or 
St. Asaph's, the halting-place of Benjamin Logan when 
he came into Kentucky with Daniel Boone in the spring 
of 1775, he building this station at the same time Boone 
established Boonesboro on the Kentucky River. The 
town of Stanford is now situated at this place. Only 
ten miles distant in another direction lay Harrodsburg, 
founded, about the same time as Boonesboro, by James 
Harrod and the McAfees, who came by the Ohio River 
route, entering the mouth of the Kentucky River and 
pursuing their search for an eligible location up the 
waters of that stream until they came so nearly up to 
Danville's favored site. 

This early settled section first came to be recognized 
in a public manner in 1779, when the Virginia Land 
Commissioners, William Flemming, Edmond Lyne, James 
Barbour, and Stephen Trigg, held their sessions at 
St. Asaph's Station. In the year 1783 Kentucky was 
formed into a District by the Virginia Legislature, and 
a District Court was opened at Harrodsburg, with 
Samuel McDowell, George Muter, and John Floyd as 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 27 

judges. During the year, however, this court was re- 
moved to Danville, which we have seen was selected as 
the most eligible place for its sittings. The following 
year the threatening attitude of the Indians impressed 
the people of Kentucky with the importance of con- 
certed action on their part to resist an expected inva- 
sion. Colonel Benjamin Logan assumed the responsi- 
bility of assembling the militia ofl&cers of the District 
of Kentucky, and issued a call for a general meeting. 
The place selected for this consultation was Danville. 
The conference of these officers developed the fact that 
Kentucky was sadly in need of a local government of 
its own. They therefore issued a call for a more formal 
convention of militia delegates to assemble December 
27, 1784. The place selected for this meeting was Dan- 
ville. It in turn provided for a civic convention t-o be 
held in May, 1785. It was also held at Danville. It 
was succeeded by the convention of August, 1785. An- 
other was held in September, 1786. Others succeeded, 
in all nine being held before Kentucky became a State 
of the Union in 1792, and all were held at Danville. 

A noticeable fact in this connection is that Danville 
was the first location of Transylvania Seminary, after- 
ward removed to Lexington and known as Transylvania 
University. In the years 1780-83 the Virginia Legisla- 



28 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

ture endowed this seminary, giving it twenty thousand 
acres of land, exempting it from tax, and exempting the 
professors and students from militia duty. Two of its first 
trustees were men who afterward were members of The 
Political Club, Christopher Greenup and James Speed. 
The act establishing Transylvania Seminary provided 
that the first meeting of the trustees should be at Crow's 
Station, near Danville. It was there held in November, 
1783. In the most valuable account of education in 
Kentucky, prepared by Professor William Chenault and 
read before the Filson Club December 7, 1885, he says: 

" This meeting was a memorable one in the early educational 
history of the State. The whole subject of establishing a public 
institution of learning in the District was discussed by earnest men 
in all its bearings upon the welfare of the future State of Kentucky. 
The foremost lawyers, doctors, ministers, and military officers of the 
District were there. The meeting was presided over by the vener- 
able David Rice. Walker Daniel, Robert Johnson, Caleb Wallace, 
John Craig, Isaac Shelby, Samuel McDowell, James Speed, Christo- 
pher Greenup, and Willis Green were among the prominent speakers. 
Future governors of the State, founders of synods and presbyteries, 
judges of the Appellate Court, and judges of Circuit Court were 
alike present." 

The conclusions reached were that the prosperity 
and happiness of the rising young State were intimately 
connected with liberal education, and that the people of 
the District should increase the endowment. On the 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 



29 



25tli of May, 1785, the seminary was opened at Danville, 
and it continued there until 1789, when it was removed 
to Lexington. 

Professor Chenault says: 

" Transylvania Seminary was thus opened and continued during 
the scenes of the separation conventions at Danville. The quietude 
of the school-house must have been often broken by the stormy 
debates occurring in the old log court-house in Danville. The 
students must have often seen the manly form of Isaac Shelby and 
the tall, contemplative figure of Benjamin Logan as they rode into 
Danville to these successive conventions. Frequent visits to Dan- 
ville by General George Rogers Clark must have furnished occasions 
to the students for seeing this Hannibal of the West. They mu.st 
have frequently looked upon the person of General James Wilkinson, 
and have heard his inflammatory and eloquent speeches upon the 
navigation of the Mississippi, and also listened to the appeals of 
George Muter and Colonel Thomas Marshall for a constitution in 
accordance with the laws of Virginia." 

The transfer of the Transylvania School to Lexing- 
ton, however, did not extinguish the light of learning 
at Danville. For a number of years Lexington was the 
social and literary capital of the West. But in 1819 
the Danville embers again burst into flame, and since 
that day Center College has given a wide celebrity to 
the place as a seat of learning. For more than seventy 
years, under the presidencies of Chamberlain, John C. 
Young, Green, Breckinridge, Beatty, and W. C. Young, 



30 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

it has held aloft the torch of science, and for the future 
the promise is that of a perpetual luster. Danville has 
also been made memorable by the establishment there, 
in 1853, of the "Danville Theological Seminary," an 
institution of the Presbyterian Church, in which the 
instructors at one time were Robert J. Breckinridge, 
Edward P. Humphre}', Stuart Robinson, and Stephen 
Yerkes — men whose names are more enduring than an}'^ 
monument. 

It may be further said of this interesting section of 
Kentucky that, having come to the front in the early 
days when travel overland by the Wilderness Road was 
preferred, in later years, when steam navigation made 
the Ohio River the great highway for travel and com- 
merce, the peculiar advantages of Danville's location 
were taken away. But the railroad has in turn super- 
seded the river travel, and now trains of cars running 
out from the Falls of the Ohio over Boone's old trace,* 
through Dauville and Crab Orchard and Cumberland 
Gap, are bringing back the days of overland travel, 
and Danville is regaining something of her pristine 
supremacy. 

*It is interesting to observe how closely the railroad follows the old 
Wilderness Road. From Crab Orchard to Cumberland Gap the old road can 
be seen from the car windows almost continuously on one side or the other. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 31 



Formation of the Club. 

In view of the advantageous situation of Danville in 
the early days, as has been shown, it is not unnatural 
that there were then found in and about that little 
inland town a number of the most important men who 
had come out to the West, nor is it unnatural that 
these men were, as we now know, associated together 
for purposes of consultation and discussion and mutual 
instruction concerning the subjects of the highest prac- 
tical importance to themselves and the people of Ken- 
tvicky at large. 

In the fall of 1786, eleven years after Daniel Boone 
had iirst marked out the Wilderness Road, and five 
years after Danville was laid out as a town, and three 
years after it became the Capital of Kentucky, an 
association was there formed entitled "The Political 
Club." 

For several reasons this society is a subject of pecul- 
iar interest, and deserves to have its history particularly 
recorded. 

Its very early date and location at the place where 
all the early conventions were held connect its work 
with that of these civic assemblies. 



32 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

The roll of members shows that nearly all were 
members of the conventions ; their names show that 
they were the leading men and most influential citizens 
in the new western community. The subjects discussed 
show the practical and timely character of their delib- 
erations. The minutes of their meetings show the 
seriousness and dignified gravity of men who were in 
earnest and felt the weight of responsibility. It is evi- 
dent that they were imbued with a consciousness that 
upon them was cast the work of securing for the inhab- 
itants of Kentucky a government adapted to their wants 
and necessities. They saw around them a magnificent 
body of land, and appreciated the advantages it afforded, 
the wonderful attractions it offered to settlers, and the 
promise it held for the future. They saw it rapidly fill- 
ing up. They had, by their own toilsome journey to Ken- 
tucky, experienced the full sense of the wide separation 
from the Virginia government. They felt the necessity 
for a home government, and set themselves diligently to 
work upon the practical questions of the hour. 

Great, however, as must have been the influence of 
this society upon the times, it is a singular fact it has 
no mention in any history. Richard H. Collins, who 
searched in everj' section of the State with the most 
indefatigable industry for every thing illustrative of the 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 



33 



character and work of the early Kentuckians, came upon 
no trace of this society. The traditions of Danville, 
strange as it may seem, failed to perpetuate it. The 
members — who in their later years found homes in other 
towns of the State, Lexington, Frankfort, Louisville, 
Bardstown, Versailles, and others — did not preserve in 
any form, recorded or otherwise, the memory of this 
club. 

The accidental finding of the original papers of the 
club, and the consequent publicity of the fact that so 
important and interesting a society had an existence in 
the early days at Danville, led Colonel R. T. Durrett, 
the President of the Filson Club, to examine his im- 
mense stores of old manuscripts for any reference or 
allusion to it they might contain. He was rewarded 
with finding one mention of the club. In the manu- 
script journal or diary of Major Beatty, a paymaster in 
the United States Army, is an entry of date August 29, 
1786. The Major, after narrating that he had paid off 
some western troops at the Falls of the Ohio, proceeds 
to tell how he journeyed to Limestone by way of Dan- 
ville. At Danville he spent a night, and he gives the 
following account of a meeting of The Political Club: 

" Very much disturbed by a Political Club which met in the 
next house where we slept and kept us awake till 12 or i o'clock. 

6 



34 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 



This club is very commendable in a new country. It is composed 
of members of the most respectable people in and near Danville, 
who meet every Saturday night to discuss politics. Some pretty 
good speeches and some tolerable good arguments made use of last 
night. The dispute was : One side insisted that an Act of Assembly 
was not law when it did not perfectly agree with the Constitution 
of the State. It was opposed by the other party, and a very long 
debate took place." 

The minutes of the club contain an account of this 
very debate, and show that the decision of the club was 
that an Act of Assembly must be in accordance with the 
Constitution of the State. 

So far as the records disclose the club had an exist- 
ence from 1786 until 1790. Its secretary was Thomas 
Speed, then a young man, well educated and trained in a 
clerk's office. He wrote a fine, clerkly handwriting, and 
evidently was careful and methodical. In after years he 
was a Circuit Court Clerk; several times member of the 
State Legislature, and once a member of Congress. 

His methodical habits led him to put itp the records 
of The Political Club in a package, label it "Political 
Club Papers," and place them in a drawer of his secre- 
tary with other papers which had served their purpose 
and were not likely to be wanted. He probably did this 
when the club ceased to meet, which was in 1790. The 
papers were discovered by the present writer in the 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 



35 



year 1878. They had, therefore, remained untouched for 
eighty-eight years.* Examination of the package showed 
that it contained the records of a society of which no 
living person had any information. The names of the 
members were there, the constitution and rules of pro- 
cedure, the minutes of the meetings, and various other 
papers pertaining to the conduct and work of the society. 
The papers were brought to Louisville by the writer, 
where they were eagerly inspected by persons versed in 
early Kentucky history, particularly Colonel R. T. Dur- 
rett, Colonel John Mason Brown, and Richard H. Collins, 
and the "find" was pronounced to be of the greatest 
interest and value. An account of the discovery was 
published by the present writer in September, 1878, in 
the Louisville Commercial, which was copied by other 
newspapers in Kentucky. The Commercial then said 
editorially : 

"The existence of The Political Club is not mentioned in any 
history, and so far as we know there is no tradition of it, and, 
except for the discovery a few weeks ago of the papers of the 
club, all memory of this truly remarkable association of men would 

* Thomas Speed, the Secretary of the Club, removed from Danville to 
Bardstown in 1793, where he resided until his death in 1842. The desk he 
used was the old-fashioned sort, with a writing shelf, and drawers below. 
In these drawers he put away many " old papers." After his death the desk 
was used, but the drawers of "old papers" were not disturbed. In 1878 the 
present writer unlocked the drawers, and among the papers was found the 



36 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

have been lost entirely. The records are now nearly one hundred 
years old. They have been preserved in a drawer of an old desk 
which belonged to the secretary of the club. They alone perpetuate 
the memory of The Political Club." 

The Courier- Journal said: 

" The extracts which have been published are sufficiently full to 
satisfy ordinary curiosity, but the publication of the whole record 
would be a valuable contribution to the history of Kentuckj-. Such 
papers discovered in any State having a well-conducted historical 
society would be seized upon as a most valuable and interesting 
acquisition." 

In addition to the account given in the Louisville 
Commercial, an address tipon the subject of The Political 
Club was afterward delivered at Danville by Jttdge 
Alexander P. Humphrey, which was published in the 
Courier- Journal. Mention of the society and the dis- 
covery of its records is made in Shaler's recent History 
of Kentticky, and in the " Political Beginnings of Ken- 
tticky," by Colonel John Mason Brown, and also in 
other late publications. 

package labeled " Political Club Papers." The package had remained so long 
closely packed with others it had become partially glued to them, and 
separated with a crackling or tearing sound. They were tied with a string 
made of homespun flax. Though yellow with age they were perfectly pre- 
served. The writer's father, then nearly seventy, was present, and, though 
he had been familiar with the desk all his life, he stated to the writer that 
he knew nothing whatever about the papers or of the club. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 37 

Colonel John Mason Brown, whose remarkable knowl- 
edge of Kentucky history was so well known, pays this 
tribute to the members of The Political Club: 

"The list of names of the members of The Political Club will 
suggest to every one familiar with the early story of Kentucky a 
just idea of the usefulness of that body. It would not have been 
possible to assemble another body within the District equal to these 
men in accomplishments, experience, and possession of public con- 
fidence. Their names appear on every page of Kentucky's earlier 
history." 

Professor Shaler, a native of Kentucky, in his recent 
history of the State (having the original papers before 
him), says: 

"This association was composed of about thirty of the brightest 
spirits of the times, who were resident in and about Danville. On 
its roll we find the names of many of those who had already or 
were afterward to lead the State in the paths of peace or war." 

Judge Humphrey in his address says: 

"In this list of names will be found men who filled every office 
of honor in this State. Indeed they are to Kentucky, in its strug- 
gles for life and greatness, equal in importance to the ships given 
in Homer, to the Greeks at Troy." 

The attention the subject has received shows the 
interest taken in the discovery of the existence of the 
society, and has demonstrated its importance in the early 
history of events in Kentuck}^ 



38 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 



The Members. 

The club consisted of thirty members. 
were as follows: 



Their names 



Harry Innes, 
Christopher Greenup, 
John Brown, 
Robert Craddock, 
Thomas Todd, 
John Belli, 
G. J. Johnston, 
George Muter, 
Peyton Short, 
Stephen Ormsby, 
Thomas Allin, 
Thomas Speed, 
Abe Buford, 
John Overton, jr., 
David Walker, 



Samuel McDowell, 
William McDowell, 
Benjamin Sebastian, 
Baker Ewing, 
P. Tardeveau, 
William Kennedy, 
Willis Green, 
James S peed , 
Matthew Walton, 
William McClung, 
James Brown, 
Robert Dougherty, 
Joshua Barbee, 
James Overton, 
James Nourse. 



This is a striking list of early Kentucky names. 
Some of the men at that time were officially connected 
with public offices in the District of Kentucky, and 
nearly all of them afterward held important offices of 
trust and honor in the State and General Governments. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 39 

Brief biographical sketches of these earnest-minded 
men can not fail to impress even those to whom their 
names are unfamiliar, with the excellent material of the 
club, and a mention of some of their descendants will 
show that the weight and high character of the mem- 
bers have been transmitted to subsequent generations. 
Not only were they conspicuous in shaping the begin- 
nings of a commonwealth, they were the ancestors of 
a race which has taken a large part in guiding its 
career. 

It will not be necessary to speak of them in words 
of sounding praise, or describe at length their charac- 
teristics. Their names alone bring to mind the history 
of Kentucky. Mention of the positions of trust they 
filled tells the story of their merit. A few brief sugges- 
tions will suffice to show how permanently their work 
and influence were impressed upon the State. 

They were men who had passed through the training 
of the Revolution. The natural force that was in them 
had been developed in times that tried men's souls and 
ripened the faculties of men at an early age. The 
energy and enterprise which led them to the west were 
coupled with intelligence and education. Every member 
of the club had received a good education. Many had 
studied law under the best advantages. In the records 



40 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

of the club, as well as in other accounts, there is plain 
proof of the possession of accomplishments belonging 
to the best colonial society. They were all men of high 
type intellectually; men of that class who would take 
prominent positions in any of the legislative assemblies 
of our country at any time. 

Their environments in the backwoods of Kentucky 
did not preclude the exhibition of a dignified refinement 
and courtesy of demeanor acquired before they left their 
eastern homes. It is an historic fact that very many 
of the early immigrants to Kentucky were people of 
ability and substance. The seventy thousand who went 
thither within the fifteen years from 1775 to 1790, went 
with the deliberate purpose of removing permanently 
to the West with their families. They were not from 
overcrowded districts, nor were they surplus population. 
They were people of the best position in Virginia, Penn- 
sylvania, Maryland, and the Carolinas, whose intelligent 
foresight taught them that a great field for progress lay 
on the western waters, and they had the enterprise to 
make the most of a golden opportunity. They reaped 
a rich reward in the rapid advancement in value of 
the large tracts of land they acquired. 

A pleasing light is thrown upon the character of the 
pioneers by the records of The Political Club. In the 



THE POLITICAL CL UB. 41 

various papers they drafted, iu tlie minutes of the club 
meetings, and in their letters there is a cultivated 
diction and an excellence of handwriting contrasting 
strongly with ideas suggested by the simplicity of living 
in their rude log cabins, dressed in homespun and buck- 
skin, and fighting Indians. 

There is evidence also of a broadness of judgment, 
an aversion to injustice, a liberality and fairness of deal- 
ing, and a warmth of friendship and comradeship natural 
to men cast together in a new country and mutually 
dependent upon one another. 

We have seen that it was natural that a group of 
intellectual men should be found at Danville. It is 
proof of the singular excellence of a community that 
thirty such members as constituted The Political Club 
could be chosen by ballot from so small a population. 
Thus the value of the long lost records and the desira- 
bility of their publication is emphasized, as they give 
indisputable proof of the fact that by the movement of 
population, known as the "great immigration," the same 
kind and class of people were suddenly planted in 
Kentucky as had given to the Colonies their world 
famous reputation for courage, independence, and en- 
lightenment. 



42 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

Judge Harry Innes. 

Among all tlie men who were engaged in the work 
of securing order and government for the people of 
Kentucky in the pioneer days, no one was more con- 
spicuous than Judge Innes. He had both legal knowl- 
edge and practical common sense, and this combination 
of qualities fitted him for peculiar usefulness. He was 
born in Caroline County, Virginia, January 4, old style, 
1752, and died at Cedar Hill Farm, near Frankfort, 
Kentucky, September 20, 1S16, in the sixty-fifth year 
of his age. When a member of The Political Club he 
was thirty-five years of age. 

He was the second of three sons of Reverend Robert 
and Catherine Richards Innes. The eldest son, Robert, 
was a physician, and the two younger were lawyers. 
James, the youngest, became Attorney -General of Vir- 
ginia, and was a member of the Virginia convention 
which adopted the Constitution of the United States. 

Harry was a school-mate of James Madison, and his 
life-long friend. 

In 1772 he obtained his license to practice law in the 
Colony of Virginia from John Randolph and G. Wythe, 
by the authority of the General Court. He at once 
acquired a large business, and practiced in the counties 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 



43 



of Bedford, Chesterfield, Fincastle, Amelia, Cumberland, 
Pittsylvania, Caroline, Botetourt, and Franklin. In 1778 
he was appointed deputy attorney for the county of 
Bedford by Governor Patrick Henry. In 1779 he was 
appointed escheator for that county by Governor Thomas 
Jefferson, and afterward was made collector of specific 
tax for the same county by Governor Benjamin Harrison. 
In 1782 he was appointed District Commissioner for the 
counties of Halifax, Charlotte, Pittsylvania, Henry, Bed- 
ford, and Campbell by Governor Harrison. The services 
rendered in this position were very valuable, and he 
received the special thanks of the Governor and the 
War Department. Also under the appointment of the 
Virginia Legislature he was employed to determine land 
claims. 

In 1782 he was appointed assistant judge for the 
"District of the Western Waters," and in October of the 
same year Governor Harrison appointed him judge of 
that District. In October, 1784, he was elected by the 
legislature of Virginia Attorney-General for the Western 
District, which ofi&ce he filled until 1787. He was ap- 
pointed by President Washington United States District 
Judge for Kentucky in 1789, in which capacity he served 
the remainder of his life. His position as judge did not 
preclude him from public service of other kinds. In 



44 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

1790 he was authorized b}' the United States Secretary 
of War to take military measures for the protection of 
the frontiers against hostile Indians, and in 1792 he was 
associated with Generals Charles Scott and Isaac Shelby, 
Colonel Benjamin Logan, and Honorable John Brown 
in the "Military Board" appointed to act in conjunction 
with the commander of the United States forces in 
organizing the militia for expeditions against the Indians. 
His conduct in these affairs was so admirable that it 
elicited the thanks and commendation of President 
Washington. 

In 1792 he was chosen one of the electors provided 
for b}' the first constitution of Kentiicky, and presided 
over that body, which chose the first Governor, Isaac 
Shelby, and also the State Senators. 

In 1799 he was a member of the convention which 
framed the second Constitution of Kentucky. z\nother 
feature of his active and useful life is that from 1787 
until 1793 he was President of Transylvania College. 
It may be said, indeed, that the name of Judge Harry 
Innes is connected with every important event in the 
affairs of early Kentucky history. He was held in the 
highest esteem as a judge, and trusted and honored as 
a citizen. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 45 

Judge Innes was twice married. First, to Elizabeth Calloway, 
daughter of Colonel James Calloway, of Bedford County, Virginia. 
The children of this marriage were four : First, Sarah, who married 
Francis Thornton. A son of this marriage was Judge Harry Innes 
Thornton, of California, whose wife was a sister of Honorable John 
J. Crittenden. Second, Katherine, who married Samuel G. Adams, 
of Virginia, and their son, Thomas Adams, was the father of Gilmer 
Adams, now prominent among the business men of Louisville. 
Third, Elizabeth, who married Thomas C. Alexander, of Virginia. 
Fourth, Ann, who married John Morris, of Virginia. 

The second wife of Judge Innes was Mrs. Ann Shiel, widow of 
Doctor Hugh Shiel. Their only child, Marie Knox, married John 
H. Todd, of Frankfort, Kentucky, and after his death she became 
the second wife of John J. Crittenden. 

The descendants of Judge Innes are found in many parts of the 
United States: The Thorntons in Alabama, Virginia, California, and 
Kentucky; the Alexanders and Forbeses in Virginia; the Adamses 
in Kentucky, New York, Virginia, and Texas; the Pollards in 
Louisiana and California ; the Crittendens and Todds in Kentucky ; 
the Morrises, of Frankfort, Kentucky. The late Major Eugene 
Wilkinson Crittenden, U. S. A., was a soldier in the late war. Lieu- 
tenant John J. Crittenden, who was killed in Custer's fight, was also 
a descendant of Judge Innes. The late Lieutenant John H. Todd, 
U. S. A., and Lieutenant -Commanding C. C. Todd, U. S. N., were 
great-grandsons of Judge Innes. Lieutenant John Jordan Crittenden, 
of the Twenty-second United States Infantry, is also a great-grand- 
son. 

Justice Thomas Todd. 

Thomas Todd was born in King and Queen County, 
Virginia, January 23, 1765. His father was Richard 
Todd, of Virginia. He was left an orphan at an early 



46 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

age, but received an excellent education. He was a 
skillful surveyor and an accomplished clerk, as a young 
man; then a practicing lawyer, and then a judge. He 
was the clerk of all the early Kentucky conventions, 
also clerk of the United States District Court until 1792, 
and when the Kentucky Court of Appeals was established 
he was appointed clerk of that court. This office he 
held until 1801, when he was appointed by Governor 
Garrard Judge of the Court of Appeals. In 1806 he 
became the Chief Justice. At that time, however, the 
increase of population in the western country demanded 
the creation of a new United States Circuit and an 
additional Associate Justice of the Svipreme Court. The 
States of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio constituted the 
new circuit, and Thomas Todd was appointed by Presi- 
dent Jefferson to the Supreme Bench. In this position 
he continued until his death. He died at his home 
near Frankfort, February 7, 1826. 

The bar of the Supreme Court passed resolutions 
expressing their regret and high appreciation of his 
character and sense of the great loss to the court and 
the country at a meeting presided over by William Wirt, 
Attorney-General of the United States. The resolutions 
were presented by Daniel Webster. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 47 

The first wife of Justice Thomas Todd was Elizabeth Harris, 
a sister of Mrs. Judge Innes. The children of this marriage were : 
First, Elizabeth, who married John Hanna. Second, Ann Maria, 
who married Edmund Starling. Third, Harry Innes, who died 
unmarried. Fourth, Charles S., well known as Honorable Charles S. 
Todd, of Owensboro, Kentucky. He was chief of staff to General 
William Henry Harrison during the Indian wars, and was appointed 
by President Tyler minister to Russia. One of his sons is Doctor 
Charles H. Todd, of Owensboro; another is Captain Thomas Todd, 
of Shelby County, Kentucky. Fifth, John Harris, well known as 
John H. Todd, of Frankfort, Kentucky. He represented Franklin 
and Owen counties in the legislature in 1822- 1824, and was most 
influential in that body. He married Maria Knox Innes in 1817. 
Their children: Harry I., Catherine, I^ucy, and Elizabeth A. Among 
the leading business men of Louisville is George D. Todd, son of 
the last named Harry I. Todd. 

The second wife of Justice Thomas Todd was Mrs. George 
Steptoe Washington, whose maiden name was Lucy Payne, and she 
was a sister of Mrs. James Madison. Their children: William J., 
who died young; Madisonia, and James Madison, whose daughter 
married Arthur Peter, of Louisville. 

George Muter. 

At the time of the formation of the cltib, George 
Muter was Chief Justice of the District Court of Ken- 
tucky. Associated with him on the bench were two 
other members of the club, Saiuuel McDowell and Harry 
Innes. The clerk of the court was Christopher Greenup, 
also a member of the club. This court held its sessions 
at Danville. It was established under an Act of the 



48 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

Virginia Legislature passed in 1782, Kentucky having in 
1780 been divided into three counties — Jefiferson, Fayette, 
and Lincoln — and they constituted the "Kentucky Dis- 
trict." The Act made provision for a court for this 
District having jurisdiction of all treasons, murders, 
felonies, crimes, and misdemeanors, and also of law and 
equity cases. The coiirt held its first session in 1783 
at Harrodsburg, but in that 3'ear it was removed to 
Danville. Judge Muter held his office until Kentucky 
became a State, and then in 1792 became Judge of the 
Court of Appeals, and so continued for eleven years, 
being the first Chief Justice. 

In addition to his services in a judicial capacity, 
he had served in the Revolution as the commander of 
a ship of war. He came to Kentucky with the military 
title of Colonel, and was a pioneer soldier as well as 
one of the most useful of all of the early builders of 
the Kentucky Commonwealth. He was a member of all 
the conventions which, from 1785 to 1789, were held at 
Danville for the purpose of erecting Kentucky into a 
State. In 1785 he and Judge Harr}^ Innes were deputed 
by the convention of that year to proceed to Virginia 
and lay before the legislature the petition of Kentucky 
to be made a State, which service they performed. He 
was a member of the convention which framed the first 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 



49 



constitution in 1792. In that year he was one of the 
electors under that constitution to select the first Gov- 
ernor of the State — their choice being Isaac Shelby. 
They also chose the first State Senators. It is notice- 
able that besides Judge Muter six other members of The 
Political Club — Short, Todd, Greenup, Innes, Samuel 
McDowell, Kennedy — were electors, the four latter being 
all who were sent from Mercer County. The total num- 
ber from all the State was forty. 

The occupation of most of George Muter's life was that 
of a judge, and when he left the bench in 1803 he was 
old and poor. The legislature, in recognition of the debt 
of gratitude the State was under to so faithful a public 
servant, granted him a pension of $300, to be paid to 
him annually during the remainder of his life. The act 
recited the services he had rendered his country, both 
civil and military, his age and withdrawal from public 
life without a competency, and the injustice of leaving 
a faithful piiblic servant to struggle with penury. The 
succeeding legislature, moved by fear that the precedent 
would destroy the fabric of the Commonwealth, repealed 
the generous and gracious act. But it is a pleasant 
reminiscence of the times that the Governor, Christopher 
Greenup, vetoed the repealing act. The veto message 
was strong and earnest, citing the case of Clarinda 



50 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

Allington, who had been a prisoner among the Indians, 
and received a pension, not for public services but simply 
because of her distressed condition; that Judge Muter's 
claims were stronger, being for his distinguished civil 
and military services all through the pioneer period. 
The repealing measure was passed over the veto. But 
Governor Greenup had done all that was in his power 
to befriend his old Political Club brother. 

When Thomas Todd was appointed Justice of the 
Supreme Court he requested his friend Judge Muter, 
who had no family, to reside in his home. The offer 
was accepted. Judge Muter's estate, which consisted of 
revolutionary claims, went by his will to the family 
of Thomas Todd. 

Colonel Abraham Buford. 

Abraham Buford was of Virginia lineage, and was 
born and reared in that State. Having received a good 
education, his earlj^ life was spent in military service. 
In the battle of Point Pleasant, October lo, 1774, when 
General Andrew Lewis signall}^ defeated the Indians 
under their chief, Cornstalk, Lieutenant Abe Buford 
fought with the body of Virginia volunteers commanded 
by his cousin, Thomas Buford. His experience and 
talents caused him to be placed in command of a 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 51 

Virginia regiment in the Revolutionary War, through 
which he served and participated in many engagements. 
At the close of the struggle, like many others, he sought 
his fortune in the western country. He settled in Ken- 
tucky prior to 1783, and in that year was surveyor of 
Lincoln County by appointment. He became the owner 
of large tracts of the finest Bluegrass lands, and in 
1788, while a resident of Danville, he married Martha 
McDowell, daughter of Judge Samuel McDowell. Thus 
he was associated with his distinguished father-in-law 
not only in The Political Club but in the public meas- 
ures for founding the State of Kentucky. 

The eldest son of Colonel Abraham Buford, Charles S. Buford, 
married first a daughter of Governor John Adair. A daughter of 
this marriage was Pattie, who married General James S. Jackson, 
member of Congress and a distinguished Union officer, who fell at 
Perryville. Her brother Henrj- married Miss Marshall, and their 
son is Judge Humphrey Marshall Buford, of Lexington, Kentucky. 
Colonel Abe Buford's second wife was a daughter of Doctor Basil 
Duke. Their son Lewis was a major in the Union Army. Their 
daughter Susan married Major Edson, Professor at West Point, 
and another daughter, Henrietta, married Thomas F. Barbee, a 
grandson of Joshua Barbee, who was a member of The Political 
Club. 

Another son of Colonel Abe Buford, William S., married a 
daughter of Chief Justice Robertson. A daughter of Colonel Abe 
Buford married James K. Duke, brother of Charles S. Buford's 
second wife. Their daughter Charlotte married Reverend Mr. 



52 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

Strahan. Another daughter, Pattie, returned to the Buford name by 
marrying General John Buford, U. S. A., whose father was a cousin 
of Colonel Abe Buford. General John Buford served with marked 
distinction in the Armj- of the Potomac. Another daughter married 
General Green Clay Smith, of Kentucky, who served his country in 
the Mexican War and Civil War. A son, William Duke, son of 
James K. Duke, served in the Mexican War, and on the Confederate 
side in the Civil War. General Abraham Buford, of the Confed- 
erate Army, was a descendant of the .same Virginia family to 
which Colonel Abraham Buford belonged. 

Robert Dougherty. 

Robert Dougherty belonged to a family of that name 
which came to Kentucky with the earliest of the pio- 
neers. He founded Dougherty's Station, which was 
about one and a half miles from the site of Danville, 
on Clarke's Run, and doubtless resided at that place 
during the existence of the club. In later j'ears he 
removed to Barren Cotmty, and was in 1800, 1801, 1802, 
1807, and 1 814 the representative from that county in 
the State Legislature. In 1808 he was in the State 
Senate. Others of the name, presumably brothers or 
near relatives, came to Kentucky at the same time 
with Robert. Their names appear among those of 
the first pioneers at Boonesboro, Harrod's Station, and 
Mayslick. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 53 

Christopher Greenup. 

Christopher Greenup possessed noble traits of char- 
acter and performed eminent services for his State and 
country. He was born in Virginia in 1750. He served 
in the War of the Revolution with the rank of colonel. 
Upon its close he removed to Kentucky in 1783. He 
was a lawyer and began practice in the District Court. 
He had also learned surveying, and his name is con- 
nected with the first effort toward an historical and 
geographical account of Kentucky. Indorsed upon the 
map made by John Filson, and published with his 
history of Kentucky in 1784, is this dedication: 

"While this work shall live may this inscription remain a 
monument of the gratitude of the author to Col. Dan. Boone, Levi 
Todd, Jas. Harrod, Christo. Greenup, Jno. Cowan, and Wm. Kennedy, 
Esq., of Kentucky, for the distinguished assistance with which they 
have honored him in its composition, and a testimony that it has 
received the approbation of those who he justly esteems the best 
qualified to judge of its merits." 

In March, 1785, he was appointed clerk of the Dis- 
trict Court. He was a member of the early conventions, 
and an elector for Governor and Senator under the first 
constitution in 1792. From 1792 until 1797 he was a 
member of the National Congress, being, together with 
Alexander D. Orr, the first to represent the State in 



54 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

that body. In 1804 he was elected Governor without 
opposition. The Palladivim said editorially at the time: 

"The election of this gentleman to the first magistracy of the 
State by a unanimous vote is a strong evidence of the satisfaction 
he has given in the many high offices to which he has been previ- 
ously called by the voice of his fellow -citizens." 

When he took the oath of office he said: 

"Having at an early period of my life formed the strongest 
predilection in favor of a republican government, having also 
shared in part the toils, dangers, and difficulties experienced by 
all those who joined in the glorious cause which secured to the 
United States her liberty and independence, seeing the unparalleled 
progress which our citizens are daily making in the arts and 
sciences, together with the great extension of the agricultural and 
commercial interests, and the astonishing increase of population 
in the short time the United States has become a nation, all 
combine to convince me that a republican form of government 
is capable of and does afford more lasting security to the lives, 
liberties, and property of the governed than any other. ... To my 
apprehension such a government is a government of the people 
under such an organization as they shall, from time to time, 
ordain and establish, and where every freeman not legally dis- 
qualified has directly or indirectly a voice in the administration." 

In such words did Governor Greenup in 1804 express 
the sentiment, uttered sixty years later by Abraham Lin- 
coln, "A government of the people, by the people, and 
for the people." In the same year in an address to the 
legislature he said ; 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 55 

"Biit a few years ago Kentucky was a wilderness; now science, 
civilization, commerce, and all the arts which facilitate and sweeten 
human intercourse exist and are cherished and promoted. The 
Commonwealth presents the pleasing spectacle of an industrious 
and law-abiding people." 

In 1805 he vetoed an act repealing the charter of 
the Kentucky Insurance Company, and said in his veto 
message that he regarded the charter as in the nature 
of a contract which could not be impaired; thus reach- 
ing the same conclusion as that reached by the Supreme 
Court of the United States fourteen years later in the 
Dartmouth College case. 

The Burr conspiracy occurred during his adminis- 
tration. The secrecy of the movements of Aaron Burr 
in that extraordinary event is well illustrated by the 
fact that in the same month (November, 1806,) that Burr 
was at Lexington, Kentucky, pushing his schemes, Gov- 
ernor Greenup felicitated the legislature on its assem- 
bling, that no extraordinary event had occurred during 
the year, which had been " marked only by the roll of 
the seasons and the resulting avocations of men." 

In his next message he showed how the machinations 
of designing men had been happily frustrated without 
bloodshed. It has been already stated in the sketch of 
George Muter that Governor Greenup vetoed an act of 



56 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

the legislature repealing the act which gave a pension 
to Judge Muter. 

After his term expired as Governor he represented 
Franklin County in the legislature. He accumulated 
wealth, and for many years was a director in the old 
Bank of Kentucky. He was popular, and had the con- 
fidence and love of the people. One of the counties in 
Kentucky bears his name. He died April 27, 1818. 

His wife died October 22, 1S07. The obituary in the 
Palladium tells of her virtues aud graces, and that she 
was forty-two years of age, but it fails to mention who 
she was or when married. Among the papers of The 
Political Club, however, are some small fragments of 
paper containing resolutions in the handwriting of Mr. 
Greenup. On the opposite side are fragments of a letter 
in the same handwriting. From these and a letter which 
is yet entire, it can be determined that Mr. Greenup was 
married in the 3'ear 1787, in Virginia. 

Judge Samuel McDowell. 

Samuel McDowell was the eldest son of Captain 
John McDowell, of Virginia, and grandson of Ephraim 
McDowell. The latter was a Scotch-Irish patriot in the 
times of the English Revolution of 1688. Afterward 
crossing to America he settled in Pennsylvania. Captain 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 57 

John McDowell was born in Pennsylvania, but moved 
to Virginia in 1737, his son Samuel being then two 
years of age. The connection of the McDowells with 
the most prominent families of Virginia, and their serv- 
ices in both civil and military affairs, is historic. 

Samuel McDowell was well educated in youth, one 
of his instructors being the distinguished Doctor Archi- 
bald Alexander. When twenty years of age he became 
a soldier in the French and Indian Wars, and was in 
the battle of " Braddock's Defeat." In 1774 he served 
as captain in " Dunmore's War," and fought in the battle 
of Point Pleasant. He was a colonel in the War of the 
Revolution, and, with his regiment, served under Gen- 
eral Green at the battle of Guilford Court House, and 
throughout Green's campaign against Cornwallis. Pre- 
ceding the Revolution Samuel McDowell and Thomas 
Lewis represented Augusta County in the convention of 
1775 at Richmond, and protested against government by 
any ministry or parliament in which the people were 
not represented. These two members were delegated to 
address to George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Ben 
Harrison, and the other delegates from Virginia in the 
Continental Congress, a letter of thanks and approval 
of their course; in response to which letter they received 
a communication which shows the high appreciation of 
themselves personally by those distinguished men. 

9 



58 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

In 1776 Samuel McDowell was a member of the cele- 
brated convention which was held at Williamsburg and 
there proclaimed the rights of man and instructed the 
delegates to the Continental Congress to declare the 
Colonies free and independent.* Samuel McDowell, 
therefore, brought to the deliberations of The Political 
Club, and into the Kentucky conventions, an experience 
that was directly applicable and of the utmost vahie. 

Immediately upon the close of the Revolutionary 
War, attracted by the fame of the Kentucky lands, he 
journeyed to the west with his family over the Wilder- 
ness Road and took up his residence in Fayette County, 
as surveyor, in 1783. In that year at Harrodsburg he 
presided over the first District Court held in Kentuck}^, 
the other judges being John Flo3-d and George Muter. 
He then removed to Mercer, the county in which Dan- 
ville was situated. He was accorded the distinction of 
being made the president of all the early Kentuckj' con- 
ventions except the first and the last. That he should 
have been selected to preside over these seven important 

■■ " To that body were chosen more than one hundred and thirty of the 
ablest and most weighty men of Virginia. They were the choice of the free- 
holders of Virginia, and the majority were men of independent fortune or 
even opulence. It was afterward remembered that of this grave assembly 
the members were for the most part men of large stature and robust frames, 
and that a very great proportion of them lived to exceeding old age. They 
were to decide whether Virginia demanded independence, and if so they were 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 59 

deliberative bodies is a striking testimonial to his char- 
acter. He was one of the first District Judges, as we 
have seen. In every position he held he was respected for 
his ability and reverenced for his personal high qualities. 
He lived to be eighty-two years of age, and died at the 
residence of his son Joseph, near Danville, 1817. 

When quite young Samuel McDowell married Mary McClung. 
Her nephew, William McClung, was a member of The Political Club. 
His brother John married Elizabeth Alexander, of Princeton. The 
descendants of Judge McDowell were numerous and unusually 
distinguished. Four of his sons served in the Revolutionarj^ War. 

Major John McDowell, the eldest, was with Washington at the 
crossing of the Delaware, at Valley Forge and Yorktown. He was 
also a major in the War of 181 2. He was frequently in the Ken- 
tucky Legislature, and a member of the convention which framed 
the second Constitution of Kentucky. His wife was his cousin, 
and their son married a daughter of Governor Shelby. His de- 
scendants also intermarried with the Marshalls and Logans, and 
some of them served with distinction in the Confederate Army 
in the Civil War. 

Colonel James McDowell, the next sou, married Mary Paxton 
Lyle. He served in the Revolution with two of his sons, and in the 
War of 1812. His descendants intermarried with the Campbells, 
McPheeters, Paxtons, Moores, Picketts, McClungs, Clays, Riggses, 

to establish a commonwealth, and iu making this decision they moved like 
a pillar of fire in front of the whole country." (Bancroft's History United 
States, Volume 8, page 377.) 

Bancroft also says, speaking of this convention: "The county of Augusta 
represented the necessity of making the confederacy of the United States 
more perfect, independent, and lasting; and of framing an equal, free, and 
liberal government that might be the test of all future ages. {Ibid., page 376.) 



6o THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

and Andrewses; Doctor Hervey McDowell, of Cj-nthiana, Kentucky, 
Doctor Thomas E. Pickett, of Maysville, Kentucky, and Honorable 
W. A. Sudduth, of the Louisville Bar, are among them. 

Judge William McDowell, the third son, was a member of the 
club, and a sketch of his life will be given. 

Judge Samuel McDowell, of Mercer County, the fourth son, 
served in the War of the Revolution and War of 1812. His wife 
was Anna Irvine, of the noted Irvine family. Their descendants 
are very numerous, intermarrying with the Starlings, Sullivants, 
Ballards, Prestous, and Clays. 

Abram Irvine McDowell, one of his sons, was the father of 
General Irvine McDowell, U. S. A., Colonel John McDowell, and 
Colonel Malcomb McDowell, all soldiers in the Civil War, the former 
the Commander of the Army of the Potomac. 

Doctor William A. McDowell, another son, was the father of Mrs. 
Judge Bland Ballard, of Louisville. Judge Ballard was appointed 
Judge of the United States District Court for Kentucky by Mr. 
Lincoln in 1861, and served with great distinction until his death, 
eighteen years after. The brother of Mrs. Bland Ballard is Major 
Henry Clay McDowell, who served in the Civil War. He married 
Annette Clay, daughter of Colonel Henry Clay, who fell in the 
Mexican War, the son of the great Henry Clay. Major Henry Cla}' 
McDowell and his accomplished wife now own and reside in the 
home of Henry Clay, "Ashland." His brother is Major William 
McDowell, of Louisville. 

The eldest child of Judge Samuel McDowell, of Mercer, and Anna 
Irvine married William Starling. They removed to Hopkinsville, 
Kentucky. Their children were Colonel Sam Starling, Colonel Lyne 
Starling, and Colonel Edmund Starling, all of whom attained their 
rank by service in the Union Army. William Starling, of Hopkins- 
ville, was also their son. 

Colonel Joseph McDowell, of Danville, fifth son of Judge Samuel 
McDowell and Mary McClung, .served in the War of 181 2. His 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 6i 

wife was Sarah Irvine, sister of the wife of his brother Samuel. 
General Henry B. Carrington, U. S. A., who served with distinction 
in the Civil War, is their grandson. Other descendants intermarried 
with the Sullivants, Davidsons, and Reeds. The wife of E. L. 
Davidson, of L,ouisville, is a granddaughter. 

Doctor Ephraim McDowell, sixth son of Judge Samuel McDowell 
and Mary McClung, achieved a world-wide fame as a surgeon, which 
need not be dwelt upon here. He died in 1830. His wife was a 
daughter of Governor Shelby. Their children intermarried with 
the Halls, Youngs, and Irvines. 

Caleb Wallace McDowell, seventh son of Judge Samuel McDowell 
and Mary McClung, married his kin.swoman, Elizabeth McDowell. 
Their descendants intermarried with the Chrismans, Scotts, Halls, 
and Bells. A granddaughter married Governor ly. E. Parsons, of 
Alabama. 

Mary McClung, daughter of Judge Samuel McDowell and Mary 
McClung, married Judge Caleb Wallace, whose distinguished career 
has been ably presented in one of the Filson Club Publications by 
the Reverend William H. Whitsitt. Her twin si.ster, Magdalen, 
married Andrew Reid, a prominent Virginian. Their daughter 
married General Andrew Moore, member of Congress and United 
States Senator, whose home was at lyCxingtou, Virginia. A grand- 
daughter married Professor James White, of Lexington, Virginia, 
whose daughter is the wife of Helm Bruce, of the Louisville Bar. 

Another daughter of Judge Samuel McDowell and Mary 
McClung, Martha, married Colonel Abe Buford, a member of The 
Political Club, who has been mentioned. 

Another daughter, Mary, married Judge Alexander Keith Mar- 
shall, a brother of Chief Justice Marshall. Their children and 
descendants formed alliances with the Andersons, Bufords, Paxtons, 
Harbesons, and Marshalls. 



62 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

Judge William McDowell. 

William McDowell was a worth}' sou of liis distin- 
guished father, Samiiel McDowell. He was born in 
Virginia, 1762, which made him twenty- four years of 
age when The Political Club was organized. He served 
in the Virginia militia during the Revolution. He was 
well educated in the best schools in Virginia, and became 
an accomplished lawyer and able judge. He came to 
Kentucky with his father in 1783. He was a representa- 
tive from Kentucky in the Virginia Assembly in the year 
1787. He became the first auditor of Kentucky b}' the 
appointment of Governor Shelby, and for a number of 
years he was a member of the State Senate. He was a 
man of the highest character, and of splendid ability. 
He married Miss Margaretta Madison, of Virginia, a 
niece of President Madison. Their son Samuel became 
an active and useful member of the Kentuck}- Legislature 
from Warren County. Their daughters all married prom- 
inent men, one of them being the wife of Honorable 
James G. Birnej^, the "Liberty" candidate for the pres- 
idency in 1844. Another married D. Brashear, and a 
daughter of this marriage became the wife of Joseph 
Sullivant, of Columbus, Ohio. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 63 

John Brown. 

Honorable John Brown was one of the most eminent 
of the early Kentucky statesmen. He enjoyed the per- 
sonal friendship of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and 
Madison. He was born at Staunton, Virginia, in 1757, 
being the son of Reverend John Brown and Margaret 
Preston. He received the most thorough education in 
youth, and served in the War of the Revolution under 
Washington and Lafayette, having left Princeton College 
to join the army. He afterward read law in the office 
of Thomas Jefferson, and in 1782, when twenty-four 
years of age, removed to Kentucky, arriving immediately 
after the battle of Blue Licks. He was a prominent 
figure in Kentucky until his death, at the age of eighty, 
in I S3 7. He was a member of the Virginia Legislature 
from Kentucky, and also a member of the early conven- 
tions. In 17S7 and 1788 he was a member of the old 
Congress. In 1789 and 1791 he was the representative 
from Kentucky in Congress under the Federal Consti- 
tution. After Kentucky was admitted into the Union 
he was made United States Senator three consecutive 
terms. 

Beside his services in a civil capacit}', he, in conjunc- 
tion with General Charles Scott, General George Rogers 



64 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

Clark, Colonel Benjamin Logan, Judge Harry Innes, 
and Colonel Isaac Slielb}^, executed the most important 
military trusts, taking part in various campaigns for 
the defense of the State. " With General George Rogers 
Clark, Governor Shelby, and Governors Scott and Mad- 
ison, and with Judges Innes and Todd, and Colonels 
Nicholas and Breckinridge, and their illustrious asso- 
ciates, he held the most confidential intercourse, and 
their attachment, commenced in periods of danger and 
under circumstances of trial, never wavered.'-' (Collins.) 

His wife was a daughter of Reverend John Mason, a noted Pres- 
byterian minister of New York. His strong characteristics descended 
to his children and grandchildren. One of his sons, Judge Mason 
Brown, of Frankfort, Kentucky, was distinguished as a lawyer and 
judge, and in connection with Judge Monroe, of Frankfort, made 
the well known compilation of Kentucky laws. Judge Mason Brown 
was twice married: iirst, to Judith A. Bledsoe, daughter of the^ 
famous lawyer and orator, Jesse Bledsoe; second, to Mary Yoder, 
daughter of the pioneer, Jacob Yoder. One of his sons was Hon- 
orable B. Gratz Brown, who was a candidate for Vice-President of 
the United States in 1872. Another son was Colonel John Mason 
Brown, who was a prominent officer in the Union Army in the 
Civil War, and afterward a leader of the bar in Louisville. 

Colonel John Mason Brown was an honored and beloved mem- 
ber of the Filson Club, and one of its originators. His accomplish- 
ments were of the highest order. He had a fondness for the study 
of the history of his own State, which he gratified even while 
engrossed with an unusually large law practice. His knowledge 
of Kentucky history was very great, and he has left as monuments 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 65 

of his devotion to its study not only the "Political Beginnings of 
Kentucky" but also many pamphlets, including the "Battle of Blue 
lyicks" and "Early History of Frankfort." His death in 1890, at 
the age of fifty-two, was profoundly lamented throughout Kentucky 
and the country. 

The resolution of the Louisville Bar said: "Descended from 
ancestors whose fame had been honorably blended with the civil 
and military glory of the country, he proved himself worthy to 
bear the name he had inherited. To a commanding person and 
captivating manner he added a mental culture and force of character 
which threw a charm around the circle in which he moved." 

The "Salmagundi Club," of Louisville, of which he was presi- 
dent, said in its memorial : " He had labored for many years in 
finding out and giving to the world what Kentucky pioneers accom- 
plished in the field of thought and action. In his life and character 
he bore an honorable ambition, and a large achievement which was 
the accumulated heritage of many generations. In his professic>a 
he stood among the foremost. As a scholar and writer he attained 
distinction. He was everywhere throughout the land recognized 
as a man who belonged to the public, and whose services might 
at any time be demanded in exalted station. In his life in this 
community every deserving movement or undertaking for the last 
score of years was helped in direction by his wise counsel and 
bore the impress of his helping hand. In his death it is the uni- 
versal feeling that this community has suffered an irreparable loss." 

The establishment of the system of public parks at Louisville 
is largely due to Colonel Brown's influence. He was one of the 
originators of the scheme, and prepared the bill for the legislature. 

Another son of Honorable John Brown was Orlando Brown, of 
Frankfort, Kentucky, who, as a lawyer and citizen and a writer of 
rare merit, occupied a position of great prominence and usefulness. 



66 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

James Brown. 
James Brown was a brother of Honorable John 
Brown. His ability as a lawyer caused him to be asso- 
ciated with those who were the most eminent before 
the Kentucky courts — Clay, Nicholas, Breckinridge, and 
others. His wife was a daughter of Colonel Thomas 
Hart and sister of the wife of Henry Clay. He was 
the fifth Secretary of State, being appointed by Governor 
Shelby. Upon the purchase of Louisiana, in 1803, he 
removed to New Orleans, where he and Mr. Livingstone 
prepared the Civil Code of Louisiana. He was elected 
to the Senate of the United States from Louisiana 
several successive terms, from 1812 to 1823. In 1S23 ^^ 
was appointed Minister to France by President Adams, 
and filled that high office for ten years. He died in 
Philadelphia in 1836. 

Captain James Speed. 

Captain James Speed was born in Virginia in 1739. 
His father was John Speed, of Mecklenburg, who was 
also born in Virginia, and whose father came to Virginia 
from England in 1695. Captain James Speed was one 
of a family of six brothers, all of whom served in the 
Revolutionary War, one being killed in the battle of 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 67 

Guilford, North Carolina, where Captain James Speed 
received a shot through his body while leading his 
command in the battle. At the close of the Revolution- 
ary War he removed with his family to Kentucky and 
settled near the spot where Danville was afterward built. 
When a member of the club he was a little under fifty 
years of age, and had the gratification to have with 
him in the club his oldest son, Thomas Speed, who was 
its secretary. He had not studied law, but his great 
intelligence and strong practical wisdom caused him to 
be selected in 1784 judge of one of the first courts 
established in Kentucky. He was a member of the 
early conventions, and prominent in all the efforts for 
State establishment. 

He never recovered entirely from the wound received 
at Guilford, not being able to hold himself erect. Hav- 
ing received a classical education, he taught his own 
children after coming to Kentucky until schools were 
provided. It was said of him by Judge Bibb and others 
who knew him well that he was a natural lawyer, and 
his papers, which have been preserved, give evidence 
of that fact. For his military services he received large 
grants of land, and he became the owner of other tracts 
by purchase. 

The wife of Captain James Speed was Marj' Spencer, of Virginia. 
His eldest son, Thomas, was a member of The Political Club, and 



68 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

its secretary. A sketch of his life will be given. The second son, 
John, settled near Louisville about 1795, and was known as Judge 
John Speed. He was the father of Honorable James Speed, of 
Louisville, Attorney-General of the United States in the Cabinet 
of Abraham Lincoln, and of Joshua F. Speed, Mr. Lincoln's friend 
in Illinois. Their brothers, William, Philip, and J. Smith, were 
valued citizens of Louisville, and the sisters were Mrs. James D. 
Breckinridge, Mrs. Austin L. Peay, Mrs. B. O. Davis, and Mrs. 
Adams, all residents of Louisville. 

One of Captain James Speed's daughters, Mary, married William 
Smith, of Virginia. Their son, Colonel John Speed Smith, of Mad- 
ison County, Kentucky, was an able lawyer, and one of the most 
enterprising and valuable citizens of the State. Colonel John Speed 
Smith was the father of General Green Clay Smith, distinguished 
as a soldier in the Mexican War and Civil War; twice a member 
of Congress, Governor of Montana Territory, and in 1876 Prohibi- 
tion candidate for the presidency of the United States. 

A daughter of Colonel John Speed Smith married General D. S. 
Goodloe, of Lexington, and a son of this marriage was the brilliant 
young statesman of Lexington, Colonel William Cassius Goodloe. 
All of the descendants of Colonel John Speed Smith are people of 
the greatest excellence in that portion of the State. 

Colonel John Speed Smith's sister Elizabeth married Thomas 
Walker Fry, a son of Joshua Fry. A daughter of this marriage, 
Marj-, was the wife of Reverend L. W. Green, D. D., son of Willis 
Green, a member of the club. Another daughter married Colonel 
Thomas Barbee, of Danville, whose father was a member of the 
club. A son of Thomas W. Fry and Elizabeth Smith Fry was 
Doctor Thomas Walker Fry, a fine physician. Another son was 
General Speed S. Fry, who was an ofiBcer in the Mexican War 
and a noted Union General in the Civil War. 

A daughter of Captain James Speed, Elizabeth, married Doctor 
Adam Rankin, of Henderson, Kentuckj-, an intimate friend and 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 69 

associate of the great naturalist, Audubon; his descendants bearing 
the name Rankin, and also the Johnsons and Riveses, are prominent 
and useful citizens of Henderson. 

Major Thomas Speed. 

Thomas Speed was born in Virginia and came to 
Kentucky with his father, Captain James Speed (also 
a member of the club), iu 1782. As shown by the min- 
utes of the club, he was one of the first members, and 
was made the secretary. Although quite young, being 
the youngest man in the club, the records which were 
kept by him show that he was well qualified to be asso- 
ciated with the older and more experienced members.* 
His handwriting was remarkably excellent, and it is to 
his careful habits of business that the preservation of 
the records of the club are due. He continued to reside 
in Kentucky as long as he lived, and died at his home 
near Bardstown iu 1842. His life was one of singular 
purity and excellence, and he received many evidences 
of the high estimation in which he was held. For 
many years he held the office of Clerk of Bullitt and 
Nelson Circuit Cottrts. A number of times he repre- 
sented his county in the State Legislature. He was a 

*Many evidences of his unusual precocity are found among his papers, 
in letters from Honorable John Brown, George Muter, Christopher Greenup, 
Thomas Todd, Judge Innes, and many others, all of which show that he was 
a man of affairs before he was twenty-one years of age. 



70 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

major in the War of 1812. In 1817 he was elected to 
Congress. His early education was the best that could 
be obtained in Virginia and at Danville, and, having a 
taste for letters, he accomplished himself by reading 
and became a student and writer. His papers, which 
he carefully preserved, show correspondence with all the 
distinguished men of his time, and that he was a mem- 
ber of various historical societies. He wrote accounts 
of events in Kentucky which were published in the 
local papers, and was a regular contributor to the 
National Intelligencer. 

The first wife of Major Thomas Speed was Susan Clayton 
Slaughter. An only daughter of this marriage died 5'oung. His 
second wife was Mary McElro)-, of the pioneer McElroy family 
which settled in Kentucky at Lebanon. One of her sisters was the 
wife of Reverend James Blythe, another married General James 
Allen, another Felix Grundy. Major Thomas Speed purchased land 
and made his home near Bardstown in 1794, and there resided until 
his death in 1842. He left two sons: the younger was Doctor J. J. 
Speed, of Louisville ; the elder, Thomas S., inherited the old home 
near Bardstown, and resided there until his death in 1892. He was 
the custodian of the old desk which contained the papers of The 
Political Club. He was the father of the present writer. 

Willis Green. 

Willis Green was born and reared in the Shenandoah 
Valley. He was. the son of Duff Green and Anna Willis. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 71 

He married Sarah Reed, daughter of John Reed and 
Sarah Wilcox. This marriage was at Danville in 17S3. 
He came out to Kentucky a few years before that date 
as a surveyor, and located his home on a beautiful body 
of land near the site of Danville. The name "Wave- 
land," which he gave to his homestead, is still borne 
by it. 

Willis Green was a representative from Kentucky in 
the Virginia Legislature, and also a member of several 
of the early conventions. For many years he was clerk 
of the court at Danville. He was a man of strong 
characteristics, which have been inherited by his descend- 
ants. 

Seven children of Willis Green lived to maturity, the eldest, 
DufF Green, born in 1784. He became a lieutenant in the United 
States Army, afterward graduated as a physician, and was a surgeon 
in the War of 1812. He married a niece of Simon Kenton. His 
son. Doctor Willis DufiF Green, is now a physician in Mount Vernon, 
Illinois. Another son is Judge William H. Green, of Cairo, Illinois. 
Two daughters of Doctor DufF Green reside in Bloomington, Illi- 
nois, Mrs. McElroy and Mrs. Harvey. 

The second son of Willis Green was John, known as Judge 
John Green. He was born in 17S7, studied law with Henry Clay, 
was three times in the State Senate and as often in the Lower House. 
He served in the War of 1812 on the staff of General Isaac Shelby. 
He became Judge of the Circuit Court, and died while holding that 
office in 1838. His first wife was Sarah Fry, daughter of Joshua 
Fry. The eldest born of this marriage was John Reed Green, who 



72 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

died nineteen years old. Second, Willis Green, who married a daugh- 
ter of B. B. Smith, Bishop of Kentucky. Third, Ann Peachy, who 
married Reverend Robert A. Johnson. Fourth, Sally A., who 
married John Barclay, of Danville. Her daughter Mary married 
Reverend William R. Brown, and another daughter. Jessamine, 
married E. W. C. Humphrey, of the Louisville Bar. Fifth, Reverend 
Joshua Fry Green, who married Harriet Booker, daughter of Major 
William Booker, of Washington County, Kentucky. Sixth, Susan, 
who married Honorable James Weir, of Owensboro, Kentucky. 
Their daughter Belle married Honorable Clinton Griffith, of that 
place. Seventh, Reverend William Lewis Green, who married Susan 
Weir, sister of Honorable James Weir. 

Judge John Green married, second, Mary Keith Marshall, 
daughter of Chief Justice Marshall. Two sons were born. First, 
Thomas Marshall Green, who first married Ann Eliza Butler, and 
afterward Pattie Craig, of Danville. Second, John Duff Green, 
who married Ilia Triplett. 

The youngest son of Willis Green and Sarah Reed was 
Lewis Warner, well known as Reverend Lewis W. Green, D. D., 
whose eminent career is thus summed up by Reverend E. P. 
Humphrey in an address in 1883: "Doctor Lewis W. Green was 
the first President of Center College, then a professor therein; 
afterward successively pastor in Baltimore, professor in Hanover 
College, President of Hampden Sidney College, President of Tran- 
sylvania University, and six years at the head of Center College; 
everywhere equal to his great opportunities, he was one of the 
most eloquent men of a generation in Kentucky abounding in 
eloquent meu." Doctor L- W. Green married Mrs. Mary Lawrence, 
the mother of Fry Lawrence, of Louisville. She was the daughter 
of Thomas W. Fry and granddaughter of Joshua Fry. A daughter 
of Doctor L. W. Green, Julia, married Honorable Matthew T. 
Scott, of Lexington, Kentucky, and resided at Bloomington, Illinois. 
Another daughter, Letitia, married Honorable Adlai E. Stevenson, 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 73 

a native of Christian County, Kentucky, a lawyer and statesman of 
Bloomington, Illinois, and Vice-President of the United States. 

The eldest daughter of Willis Green and Sarah Reed, Letitia, 
married James Barbour, a Virginian by birth, a merchant in Dan- 
ville, and a major in Barbee's Regiment in the War of 1812. James 
Barbour, of Maysville, is their son. Another son is Reverend Lewis 
Green Barbour, D. D., of Central University, Richmond, Kentucky, 
whose sons are Doctors Philip and John F. Barbour, physicians of 
Louisville. A daughter of Major James Barbour married Mr. Vick, 
of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Another daughter, Martha, married a 
Pre-sbyterian minister, and their son. Reverend B. Lewis Hobson, 
now a professor in McCormick Theological Seminary at Chicago, 
married a daughter of E. W. C. Humphrey, of the Louisville Bar. 

Another daughter of Willis Green and Sarah Reed married 
Doctor Ben Edwards, an eminent physician of St. Louis, brother 
of Governor Ninian Edwards. Doctor Ben Edwards had a large 
family. His son, Willis Green Edwards, was educated in medicine 
in this country and in Paris, and rose rapidly to prominence, being 
professor in the Medical College of St. Louis. His other sons 
were Benjamin, Pressly, Cyrus, and Frank. His daughter Sarah 
married General Lewis W. Parsons. Another daughter was the 
mother of the wife of Robert L- Todd, a lawyer and banker 
of Columbia, Missouri, a grandson of General Levi Todd, of 
Kentucky. 

Willis Green's third daughter, Martha Eleanor (who was called 
Patsey), married Doctor William Craig, an accomplished gentleman, 
educated at Washington College and at Transylvania and the Phil- 
adelphia Medical School. He was a surgeon in the War of 1812, 
several times in the Kentucky Legislature, and President of the 
Branch Bank of Kentucky at Danville. A son of this marriage was 
Lewis Green Craig, who died unmarried. Another son is Reverend 
Willis Green Craig, now a professor in the McCormick Theological 
Seminary at Chicago; he was the presiding of&cer of the Pres- 



74 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

byterian General Assembly at Washington in 1893. A daughter, 
L,etitia, married Doctor George Cowan, of Danville, and their son. 
Doctor Harry J. Cowan, is now an accomplished physician of 
Danville. Eliza Craig died unmarried. The youngest daughter 
of Doctor William Craig was the brilliant Pattie Craig, of Danville, 
now the wife of Colonel Thomas Marshall Green. 

Stephen Ormsby. 

Stephen Ormsby was one of the first members of 
the club. He was then about twenty-eight years of age. 
He came to Kentucky from Philadelphia. He was born 
in Ireland, though he belonged to an English family of 
distinction and ancient lineage. He was an accomplished 
gentleman, educated for the bar, and possessed literary 
culture and taste. During the existence of the club he 
removed to Louisville and became Judge of the Circuit 
Court. From iSii until 18 17 he was in Congress. Dur- 
ing the War of 181 2 he served as an officer on the staff 
of General Armstrong. 

Judge Ormsby died in 1S44, aged eighty-five. His 
home was about nine miles east of Louisville, on a farm 
of fifteen hundred acres. At his splendid country seat, 
which he called " Moghera Gloss," pronounced " Morra 
Gloss," he dispensed a famous hospitality. 

The following resolution is found among the papers 
of the club without date. It shows the estimate the 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 75 

members had of their brothers, Stephen Ormsby and 
George Muter, and is worthy of preservation : 

"Whereas, The Honorable George Muter aud Stephen Ormsby, 
Esq., members of this club, have given information that they are 
about to remove from this neighborhood, and having expressed 
their desire of still continuing to be members, as it will often be 
convenient to give their attendance; therefore, 

"Resolved, That the club, as a mark of esteem for the said 
George Muter and Stephen Ormsbj', having experienced their aid 
in discussing the subjects that have been debated in club, does 
consent to their continuance as members thereof." 



General Matthew Walton. 

Matthew Walton was born in Virginia, and became 
an officer in the Revolutionary Army. He was a brother 
of George Walton, one of the signers of the Declaration 
of Independence. Soon after the conclusion of the war 
he removed to Kentucky, and at once became a com- 
manding figure among the pioneers. He was a member 
of the convention held at Danville in May, 1785, and a 
member of two of the succeeding conventions. In the 
Virginia Convention which ratified the Constitution of 
the United States he was a member from Kentucky. 
In 1790 he was a member from Kentucky of the Virginia 
Legislature. He was also in the Convention of 1792, 
which framed the first Constitution of Kentucky. In 



76 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

1792 he represented tlie County of Nelson in the Ken- 
tucky Legislature. Washington Count}' being formed 
in 1792 out of part of Nelson, General Walton after 
that date represented the new count}-, in which he then 
resided. In 1795 and 1808 he was a member of the 
legislature. From 1800 to 1803 he was in the State 
Senate, and from 1S03 to 1807 he was the representative 
from his district in Congress. His great popularity is 
shown by his having been kept so steadily in public 
service. General Walton was a man of great refinement 
and culture. He had large possessions and lived in 
elegant style, having built for his home one of the first 
large brick residences erected in Kentucky. At one 
time he owned nearly two hundred thousand acres of 
land. He died in 1819.* 

Representatives of the Walton family are numerous. Doctor 
C. J. Walton, a physician of Munfordville, Kentucky, was a surgeon 
in the Union Army in the Ci\nl War, and afterward filled the office 
of Pension Agent at Louisville for four years b^- appointment of 
President Harrison. Reverend J. B. Walton is a professor in Center 
College, Reverend R. A. Walton is a Presbyterian minister in 
Georgetown, Kentucky, Judge Matt Walton is a lawj-er in Lex- 
ington, and his brother is a lawj-er in Washington City. 

*Judge James S. Pirtle, of Louisville, states that he often heard his father 
(Chancellor Pirtle) talk of General Walton and his family. They were near 
neighbors of the father of Chancellor Pirtle in Washington County. These 
accounts represent General Walton as a man of large landed interests and 
great wealth otherwise. He lived in fine style at a splendid country seat, 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 77 

Thomas Allin. 

Thomas Allin was a Revolutionary soldier, having 
served on the staff of General Nathaniel Greene. He 
came to Kentucky very soon after the close of the war, 
and resided at Harrodsburg. He was a clerk and also 
a surveyor. He was a member of the Convention of 
1799, which framed the second Constitution of Ken- 
tucky. His descendants have filled stations of honor 
in the history of the State. The offices of Circuit and 
County Clerk at Harrodsburg have been held by mem- 
bers of the Allin family from the beginning of the 
Commonwealth vmtil the present day. The descendants 
of Thomas Allin have always been leading citizens of 
Mercer County. 

Peyton Short. 

Peyton Short was an elector under the first consti- 
tution, and was one of the first Senators of the State, 
representing Fayette Count}' from 1792 to 1796. He 
was born in Surrey County, Virginia, in 1761, being 
twenty-five years of age at the organization of the club. 

and it is said used the first carriage brought to Kentucky. His wife was a 
lady of great refinement and unusual accomplishments. After the death of 
General Walton she married General John Pope. A fine monument at Spring- 
field, Washington County, now marks her resting-place and that of General 
Pope. 



78 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

He was the son of William Short and Mary Skipwith, 
she being a daughter of Sir William Skipwith, of 
England. Peyton Short and his brother William were 
educated at William and Mary College. Peyton came 
to Kentucky in 1785 with General Charles Scott. His 
letters show that he came down the Ohio River in 
preference to coming through the wilderness. Landing 
at the Falls, he made his way to Lincoln County, and 
stopped at Danville. He wrote in great praise of the 
beauty and fertility of the country. In 1788 he married 
Maria Symmes, eldest daughter of John Cleves Symmes, 
whom he met two years before at the house of General 
James Wilkinson. The youngest daughter of John 
Cleves Symmes afterward, in 1795, married General 
William Henry Harrison. William Short, brother of 
Peyton, was Secretary of the Legation when Thomas 
Jefferson was Minister to France under the Congress of 
the Confederation. Afterward, in 1792, he was sent to 
Spain to negotiate concerning the navigation of the 
Mississippi. Subsequently he was appointed Minister 
to France by President Washington. Peyton Short lived 
continuously in Kentucky, owning large tracts of land 
in various sections. He died in 1825.. 

Children of Peyton Short and Maria Symmes leaving families: 
First, John Cleves Short, who married, first, his cousin, the daugh- 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 79 

ter of General William Henry Harrison and Ann Symmes, and, 
second, Mary Ann Mitchell. Their children reside in Hamilton 
County, Ohio. Second, Charles W. Short. Third, Ann Maria. 

Peyton Short was married the second time to Mrs. Jane Churchill. 
A daughter of this marriage, Jane, married James Weir, senior, of 
Greenville, Kentucky. Another daughter, Elizabeth S., married 
James Breathitt, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and their son was Major 
John Breathitt, conspicuous as a gallant Union officer in the Third 
Kentucky Cavalry. Another daughter, Sarah C, married Edward 
H. Green, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. 

Charles W. Short, above mentioned, was a distinguished physi- 
cian. He married Mary Henry Churchill. Their children leaving 
families were: First, Mary C, who married William Allen Richard.son, 
of Eouisville, and their daughter, Mary C, married John F. Henry, 
of Eouisville. Second, Doctor William Short married Catherine Ma- 
tilda Strader, and their children reside in Louisville. Third, Sarah 
E. married Doctor Tobias Richard!5on, of New Orleans. Fourth, 
l/ucy R. married Honorable Joseph B. Kinkead, of Louisville ; their 
children reside in Louisville. 

Ann Maria, above mentioned, married the celebrated Doctor 
Benjamin Dudley, of Lexington, Kentucky. 



William Kennedy. 

William Kennedy was a member of the Convention 
of August, 1785, and also a member of the Convention 
of 1787. In the latter the five members from Mercer 
County were all members of The Political Club: Samuel 
McDowell, Harry Innes, George Muter, William Ken- 
nedy, James Speed. In 1792 he was one of the electors 



8o THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

from Mercer County under the first constitution. Four 
of the eight electors from that county had been mem- 
bers of the club : Christopher Greenup, Harry Innes, 
Samuel McDowell, William Kennedy. As has been 
stated in the sketch of Christopher Greenup, William 
Kennedy is named upon Filson's map of Kentucky as 
one of the six pioneers to whom Filson expressed his 
gratitude: Daniel Boone, Levi Todd, James Harrod, 
Christopher Greenup, John Cowan, and William Ken- 
nedy. Filson says his map had received the approbation 
of these men, whom he "esteems the best qualified to 
judge of its merits." William Kennedy came to Kentucky 
at a very early day, being with a company at Georgetown 
in 1776, but from the fact that he was afterward called 
General William Kennedy it is presumable he returned 
and bore his part in the Revolutionary War. 

Bvidence of his enterprise is found among the "old 
papers," where the club papers were found, in the plan 
of a town which he laid out on Green River and called 
Kennedysville. At what point on the river the town 
was, the plat dpes not show. 

The descendants of General William Kennedy are 
numerous and reside in the central part of the State, 
but the author has not been able to learn definitely 
about them. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 8i 



William McClung. 

William McClung, known as Judge McClung, was 
a native of Virginia and son of John McClung and 
Elizabeth Alexander. He was a member of the early- 
conventions, and afterward a member of the State Senate 
from Nelson County. He was twice appointed on the 
bench: first, he was appointed by President Adams one 
of the sixteen Circuit Judges provided for by an act of 
Congress, about the close of that administration. The 
act was repealed, which ended this appointment, but 
subsequently he was appointed Circuit Judge by Gov- 
ernor Christopher Greenup. 

In 1793 he married Miss Susan Marshall, who was a sister of 
Chief Justice John Marshall. Their son, John A. McClung, born in 
1804, was educated for the bar and became a successful practi- 
tioner. He subsequently became one of the most eloquent minis- 
ters of the State of Kentucky. He was the author of "McClung's 
Sketches of Western Adventure," which was first published at 
Maysville, Kentucky, in 1832, and afterward passed through several 
editions. 

This is one of the most readable books upon the subject of 
western adventure, containing excellent sketches of Boone, Kenton, 
Logan, and others. Collins in his History of Kentucky makes liberal 
excerpts from it. The " OutHne History" in Collins' valuable work 
was written by John A. McClung. He was the author also of a 
romance entitled "Camden." John A. McClung lost his life by 
drowning while bathing in Niagara River above the Falls. 



82 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

Another son of Judge William McCluug was Colonel Alexander 
Keith McClung, of Mississippi. The mother of Judge William 
McClung, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Alexander, was the 
aunt of the distinguished Doctor Archibald Alexander, of Princeton 
Theological Seminar3^ 



Gabriel Jones Johnston. 

Gabriel Jones Johnston went from Virginia to Ken- 
tucky in the early days. He removed to Jefferson 
County from Danville, and in iSoo was a member of 
the State Legislature. He afterward lived in Louis- 
ville, where he was a practicing lawyer until his death 
in 1815. 

He bore the name of one of the most eminent men 
of his time — Gabriel Jones, who was a distinguished 
lawyer in Virginia, known as the "Valley Lawyer." It 
is probable they were nearly connected. 

His brother. Will Johnston, also lived in Louisville, being the 
first Clerk of the Jefferson County Court. The son of Will 
Johnston was Doctor James C. Johnston, a distinguished physi- 
cian and accomplished gentleman whose descendants now live 
in lyouisville. 

The traditions of Gabriel Jones Johnston represent him as 
a very accomplished man, scholarlj' in his tastes, fond of anec- 
dote, and a genial companion. His descendants were in Louis- 
ville until a little while before the Civil War, when they removed 
south. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 83 

Joshua Barbae. 

Joshua Barbee was the sou of Johu Barbee, aud was 
boru iu Virgiuia iu 1761. Johu Barbee removed with his 
family from Culpepper Couuty, Virgiuia, to Kentucky, 
aud settled at a place called Stony Point, about three 
miles north of the site of Danville. The children of 
John Barbee were Thomas, Johu, Daniel, William, 
Joshua, and Elias. Of these, John was the father of 
Honorable John Barbee, who was Mayor of Louisville 
in 1855, and father of Mrs. General John B. Castleman, 
of Louisville; her sister was the wife of Bishop Galla- 
gher, of New Orleans. A sister of Johu Barbee married 
Doctor Claiborne Pirtle, a brother of Chancellor Henry 
Pirtle; his son is Captain John B. Pirtle, of Lo:;isville, 
who was a distinguished officer in the Confederate serv- 
ice. Elias, the youngest, removed from Danville to 
Green County, and was a number of times in the State 
Senate and House between the years 1800 and 1825. 
Several of the sons of Johu Barbee, including Joshua, 
served in the Revolutionary War. It was a wealthy 
family, owning very large tracts of the finest Bluegrass 
laud. The brothers were all well educated, aud Joshua 
throughout his life was a promoter of educational insti- 
tutions. He was a trustee of Center College, and a 



84 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

large contributor to it. He was a very elegant and 
courtly gentleman, and adhered to the old-style dress 
of ruffled shirt, knee breeches, silk stockings, and silver 
shoe -buckles. He was an oihcer of a military company 
raised in 1791 by Captain James Brown for service 
against hostile Indians. He also served in the State 
Legislature. He died October 8, 1839. 

It will be seen from the minutes of the club that some 
of its meetings were held at the house of this member. 

Joshua Barbee married Elizabeth Hobson. The children born 
were two, Thomas and Sarah. The latter married James Hopkins, 
who was a half-brother of Colonel John Speed Smith and Elizabeth 
Smith Fry, wife of Thomas Walker Fry. Thomas Barbee was the 
well-known and greatly-esteemed Colonel Thomas Barbee, of Dan- 
ville. At that place he was born in 1806. There he resided until 
his death, aged eighty-three, in 1889. He married Nannie Frj', 
daughter of Thomas Walker Fry and granddaughter of Joshua Fry. 

The children of Colonel Thomas Barbee were Fannie, who 
married Mr. Talbott; Joshua, a Presbyterian minister in Missouri; 
lyucy Gilmer, who was the first wife of the present Governor of 
Kentucky, John Young Brown ; Sallie Hopkins, who married Doctor 
Best; Thomas F., now a lawyer in Iowa, who married Henrietta 
Buford, daughter of Charles Buford, of Rock Island, Illinois ; Nannie 
and Alice, who now live in Danville. 

John and James Overton. 

At a very early day four Overton brothers came to 
Kentucky from Virginia. They were natives of Louisa 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 85 

County, Virginia. Clough Overton was killed at the 
battle of Blue Licks. Waller Overton settled in Fayette 
County. James and John Overton resided at Danville. 
They were sons of James Overton and grandsons of Will- 
iam Overton, who emigrated from England about 1670. 

William, the emigrant, was a son of Colonel Overton, 
a distinguished soldier in the Parliamentary War. His- 
tory first takes note of him in a letter of October 2, 1647, 
from Lieutenant-General Oliver Cromwell to Sir Thomas 
Fairfax, General of the Parliamentary forces, recom- 
mending that Colonel Overton, then commanding a 
regiment in the field, be appointed Governor of Hull, 
an important fortress and depot of supplies. The 
appointment was made, and Colonel Overton remained 
in command of Hull and its garrison until the breaking 
out of the second Parliamentary War, when he again 
took the field, commanding a brigade at Dunbar and 
Inverkeithing, in which latter "mercy," as Cromwell 
called his victories, he won flattering mention in one of 
Cromwell's pious letters to Speaker Lenthal, of the 
House of Commons. 

Colonel Overton was, however, a Presbyterian and 
"friend of Milton," as Carlyle says, and was suspected 
of sympathy with his brother Covenanters in his quarrel 
with Cromwell and the Puritans. 



86 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

After the conquest of Scotland lie was sent for to 
Whitehall and admonished; and again in December, 1654, 
he was sent for and questioned about a reported con- 
spiracy to depose General Monk and place him (Colonel 
Overton) at the head of the army then in Scotland. 
The end of this last "lecture" was a commitment to 
the Tower, where he probably died. 

Colonel Overton's son William was born in 1638. 
He married Mary Waters, a young lady of Roman Cath- 
olic faith and considerable fortune, and these two, 
Presbyterian and Catholic, left England after the Resto- 
ration and settled in Virginia on a grant of five thou- 
sand acres in Hanover County, which they named Glen 
Cairn. 

The following inscription on the tomb of one of 
their daughters is still legible: "Here lies the body 
of Temperance Harris, deceased the 19th of February, 
1710."* 

One of their grandsons, John Overton, was an officer 
in the Revolutionary Army and father of the late William 
Overton, of Green Springs, in Louisa County, Virginia, 
a country gentleman of wealth and social position, widely 

*A descendant of Mrs. Temperance Harris is Judge W. Overton Harris, 
of the Louisville Bar, to whom I am indebted for this account of the Overton 
family. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 87 

known for the virtues and graces which belonged to 
that class.* 

Fonr other grandsons were the John, James, Waller, 
and Clough who removed to Kentucky. Waller became 
a noted citizen of Fayette County, where his descend- 
ants still reside. His daughter married the celebrated 
lawyer, William T. Barry, and a daughter of this marriage 
became the wife of Colonel James Taylor, of Newport, 
Kentucky. It is an interesting fact that Waller Overton 
was on the jury with Daniel Boone, in 1780, which 
escheated the lands of John Connolly, where the city of 
Louisville now stands. George May was the escheator 
of the court at Lexington, and the jury found that 
Connolly of his own free will had joined with the Brit- 
ish forces. 

James and John Overton were both lawyers. While 
they lived at Danville they practiced in the courts in 
other parts of the State. James was sworn in as an 
attorney at Louisville, April 5, 1786. While both were 
marked men, John was destined to the greater success 
and distinction. 

After practicing in Kentucky some years John Over- 
ton removed to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1789, where he 

*In Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry is ati account of a very interesting 
interview between Patrick Henry and Colonels Samuel and John Overton at 
the home of the latter. 



88 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

entered upon a career as lawyer, judge, and man of 
afifairs of constant and unbroken success. He served 
as Commissioner of the Revenue under a commission 
from General Washington, and afterward as Judge and 
Reporter of the Court of Appeals of Tennessee. 

Shortly after his removal to Tennessee Andrew Jack- 
son also removed there, and between the two there 
sprang up a friendship and close business connection 
which lasted until Judge Overton's death. 

In 1794 Overton and Jackson as partners purchased 
the land at Chickasaw Bluff, then far beyond the con- 
fines of white settlements, and there in 1820 Overton 
founded and laid off the city of Memphis. 

Judge Overton died /^.pril 12, 1S33, sending with his 
last breath a message to his friend, Andrew Jackson, 
then President of the United States: "Write to the 
General and tell him I die as a hero should die." 

James Overton remained in Kentucky, and at his 
death left the bulk of his estate to Center College. 

Judge John Overton married Mary White, daughter of General 
James White, of the Revolutionary Army, and the founder of the 
city of Knoxville, Tennessee. One of their sons, John Overton, still 
survives and dispenses at the paternal homestead near Nashville, 
called "Travellers' Rest," a bountiful hospitality. A daughter of 
Judge Overton married Judge John M. Lea, and a granddaughter 
is the wife of Judge John M. Dickenson. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 89 

A son of James Overton accompanied General Jackson as aide- 
de-camp to Florida, and remained there until Florida was admitted 
into the Union, when he was appointed United States District 
Attorney for that State. 

Baker Ewing. 

A strong family bearing the Ewing name removed 
to the West from Virginia at an early day. Baker 
Ewing was in Danville in 1785, and about the same 
time General Robert E. Ewing located in Tennessee. 
From 1793 to 1800 Charles Ewing represented Wash- 
ington County in the Kentucky Legislature. Reuben 
Ewing and Young Ewing were members of the second 
Constitutional Convention. Reverend Fines Ewing was 
a noted Presbyterian minister in 1810. Baker Ewing, 
who was a member of The Political Club, was sent to 
the Virginia Legislature as the member from Lincoln 
County, Kentucky, in 1778. He was further honored 
in 1792 by appointment as Register of the Land Ofi&ce, 
being the first incumbent of that office. In 1802 he 
represented Franklin County in the Kentucky Legisla- 
ture. The Ewing family was one of great prominence 
in Russellville. Ephraim M. Ewing, a son of General 
Robert E. Ewing, located there, and was a leading 
lawyer. From 1835 to 1846 he was Judge of the Court 

of Appeals. His son, Presley Ewing, a brilliant young 

13 



go THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

man, died before he attained his prime, but not iintil he 
had been sent as a representative to the National Con- 
gress. Doctor U. E. Ewing removed from Russellville to 
L/Ouisville, where for many years he was a distinguished 
physician and most useful citizen. A son of Doctor 
Kwing bore the name Baker Ewing. The daughters of 
Doctor Ewing all married distinguished men. 

General Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, was born in Vir- 
ginia in 1789, and no doubt belonged to the same family 
with those who came to Kentucky. Many of the most 
prominent men in the country are connected by marriage 
or blood with the Ewing family. Among them may be 
named Honorable Adlai Ewing Stevenson, Vice-Presi- 
dent of the United States; Honorable James S. Ewing, 
Minister to Belgium ; Honorable Andrew Ewing and 
Edwin H. Ewing, of Tenne.ssee, the former being the 
father of Mrs. Henry Watterson, of Louisville. General 
W. T. Sherman married a daughter of General Thomas 
Ewing, of Ohio. 

Benjamin Sebastian. 

Benjamin Sebastian was educated for the ministry, 
and went to England for "orders" on account of the 
refusal to send bishops to this country. He officiated 
for a time as an Episcopal minister, but turned his 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 91 

attention to law. His talents were recognized, and he 
became a Jndge of the Court of Appeals. Unfortunately 
his integrity did not equal his ability. It was discovered 
that, while on the bench, he was receiving a regular 
pension from the Spanish Government in consideration 
of services to that power. His downfall is a well-known 
fact in Kentucky histor}-. He was elected a member of 
the club near the close of its existence, and only attended 
one meeting. 

John Belli. 

John Belli was one of the originators of The Political 
Club. While but little can now be told concerning him, 
it is certainly very significant as to his character and 
standing that he was associated with Samuel McDowell, 
Harry Innes, Thomas Todd, Robert Craddock, John 
Brown, and Christopher Greenup in organizing the 
club. John Belli had been a lieutenant in the Revolu- 
tionary Army, and among the manuscript documents 
in the possession of Colonel R. T. Durrett the fact is 
shown that he was a paymaster of United States troops. 
A letter dated 1796, written by him, has been foiind by 
Colonel Durrett, which will here be given entire. It 
shows that he was at the time associated in some way 
with General Wilkinson. It has never been published. 



92 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 



and has an interest in connection witli that remarkable 
man. There seems to be no record of his subsequent 

movements: 

"Cincinnati, June 7, 1796. 

"Dear General: To my great surprise I received last night a 
most extraordinary letter from Mr. Charles Wilkins, dated ist inst. 
He says: 'Mr. HoUingsworth has just informed me that you deny 
in your letters to General Wilkinson being an agent but a partner 
in the contract; and assert that I am the agent and accountable to 
the contractors for the whole business in this department.' 

"That I have informed you, vSir, confidentially, that Mr. Wilkins 
was the acting agent is a fact. It was his brother's wish that he 
should do the business in Kentucky, but. Sir, I never mentioned to 
you that he was responsible for his transactions. It is foreign, and 
I don't think I ever wrote you any thing of the kind, therefore I 
am certain you did not say so. But, Sir, supposing for a moment I 
had actually written you so, would it be kind — is it common — among 
friends to show confidential letters to others? Have I not numbers 
of yours in my possession, and which, by being shown to certain 
characters, would cause trouble? Recollect how often you have 
made me your confidante, and have I ever betrayed j^ou? Recollect, 
a few days before you left here, what you told me about a certain 
young man, with whom it seems you now are intimate; would it 
have been clever in me to mention what you then told me? Have 
I not been your friend on every occasion in j'our absence? Perhaps 
I don't frequent your table as often as some folks do, but does that 
show any ill-will? Was it because I did not immediately go to 
camp when you wrote to me? and which, if I had, I would probably 
have lost a boat -load of flour, which sank about that time at 
Columbia, and which I saved by great exertions. My God! is it 
possible that General Wilkinson would give up confidential letters? 
In short it is impossible. How many times have I heard you make 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 93 

observations condemning Colonel Muter for publishing a certain 
letter in Kentucky of Mr. Brown? In short I can't believe that 
you have done any such thing. You must recollect a variety of 
things you told me of when I came down last fall, but further it 
did not go, nor never shall. You will therefore be good enough to 
let me know how this matter stands. 

"I have written to Mr. Wilkins that I did not inform you that he 
was the principal agent, but, respecting his responsibility, I observed 
to him I never wrote to you a word, neither that he was not one of 
the partners, which he certainly is. 

" I have some letters from members in the House, dated 7th 
and 20th ult., and one from our friend, Mr. Brown, of the 20th. 
He says the military establishment is now under consideration of 
Congress. A reduction to about three thousand is agreed upon by 
both houses : that the House of Representatives say to be com- 
(* manded by a Brigadier ; the Senate saj- by a Major-General and 

Brigadier. The dispute is still depending, and how it will be 
determined is as yet uncertain. Mr. Wilkins has purchased, I 
believe, a large drove of beeves, which he tells me will come 
forward in a few days. Ever)' thing also to close the contract has 
been here for some time. My friend has not yet forwarded to me 
the 40,000 account of warrants, but I still expect them. Mr. Wilkins 
and A. Scott sent me about 6,000 account to la)' for them immedi- 
ately. In hopes that I shall hear from you shortly, I remain, Dear 
General, yours, .j^^j^ ^^^^^ 

"Generai, Wilkinson." 

Peter Tardeveau. 

Peter Tardeveau was an intelligent Frenchman who 
came to America from Bordeaux. He and another 
Frenchman, Mr. Houore, sought fortune in the western 



* 



94 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

country, and Tardeveau resided for a time at Danville, 
engaged in merchandising. He had carried on trade 
from Bordeaux to the Colonies during the Revolution- 
ary War, and was regarded as extremely wealthy. 

Among the papers of The Political Club are two 
letters from him bearing date Danville, February 7, 1787. 
One is addressed to Harry Inues and incloses the other, 
which is addressed to the President of the Club. They 
show that he had in some way given offense to two 
members at a club meeting, and had been censured for 
it. His letter to the President of the Club announces 
his withdrawal. He said his words had been interpreted 
contrary to the ideas that gave them rise, but he thought 
it best to "withdraw from a society where I got instruc- 
tion and amusement happily mingled together." He 
expresses his thanks to the members of the club by 
whose favorable acquiescence he was admitted, and for 
the honor done him as a member. On a very small slip 
of paper is found the following resolution, which is also 
found duly copied in the minutes : 

" February 10, 1787. 
" Resolved, that the secession of Mr. Tardeveau as a member of 
this club be received, and that the letters to the President and Mr. 
Innes on this subject, which have been read, be filed with the 
Secretary." 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 95 

Tardeveau removed from Kentucky to Louisiana, but 
at what date is uot known.* 

Robert Craddock. 

Robert Craddock removed from Danville to the south- 
ern part of Kentucky and resided at Bowling Green. 
He acquired much property and owned many slaves. 
He died in 1837 in Bowling Green. By his will he 
emancipated all his slaves and made liberal provision 
for them both in money and land. He was the owner 
of lands in Logan County, including part of the town 
of Russellville. This and other property he devised in 
trust for the benefit of schools. He was unmarried. 

James Nourse. 

James Nourse came to Kentucky from Virginia and 
settled in Lincoln County. He resided at Danville and 
Harrodsburg, and subsequently removed to Bardstown. 
He was a lawyer, and was also interested in merchan- 

*" In 1782-83 Messrs. Tardeveau and Honore left Redstone, Old Fort (now 
Brownsville, Pennsylvania), in the commencement of a trade to New Orleans, 
which they transferred to Louisville, and continued to the Spanish and French 
settlements of the Mississippi." (Collins' Kentucky, Vol. 2, page 358.) In the 
document transmitted by Lord Dorchester to Lord Sydney in England ( see 
"Political Beginnings," page 254,) it is said: " Lacassang & Co., at Louisville, 
and Tardeveaus, at Danville, are mercantile houses of note in the interest of 



96 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

dising. He was elected a member of the clvib Feb- 
ruary 7, 1789. His son, Charles Nourse, was an honored 
citizen of Bardstown, where he spent a long life of rare 
usefulness and uprightness. 

Charles Nourse married Miss Logan, a sister of Chancellor 
Caleb Logan. One of his sons, James D. Nourse, married Miss 
Wickliffe, a daughter of Honorable Nat. Wickliffe, of Bardstown. 
He was an accomplished scholar, and author of an excellent histor- 
ical work, entitled " The Past and its Legacies." Another son was 
Charles E. Nourse, who married a daughter of Judge Brown, of 
Bardstown. Another son is Reverend Wallace Logan Nourse, a 
minister of the Presbyterian Church in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. 
A daughter became the wife of Honorable Joseph Wilson, a prom- 
inent lawyer of Louisville. Other sons of Charles Nourse are 
Robert C, Virgil McKnight, and Joseph W. The latter is Superin- 
tendent of Public Schools in vSpencer County, Indiana. 

Major David Walker. 

David Walker was an oii&cer in the Revolutionary 
Army, serving from the beginning until the close of 
the war with a Virginia Regiment. He was severely 
wounded at Savannah. Removing from Virginia to 

France. The latter carried ou a trade from Bordeaux to the States during 
the war, and are supposed once to have been prisoners at Halifax." It is an 
interesting fact that the family of Mr. Honore, with whom Tardeveau was 
associated in business, afterward became prominent in business circles in 
Louisville. In 1818 Messrs. Honore and Barbaroux were owners of one of 
the earliest steamboats on the Ohio, .^mong his descendants are Mrs. Fred- 
erick D. Grant and Mrs. Potter Palmer. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 97 

Kentucky, he settled at Danville. He afterward removed 
from Danville to Fayette County, and represented that 
county in the legislature from 1793 to 1796. In the 
year 1800 he went to Logan County. From 1817 to 
1820 he was in Congress, being the successful competitor 
for that position against the celebrated Matthew Lyon. 
He died while a member of Congress. His dying request 
was that no public notice should be taken of his death 
by Congress. This request was complied with, except 
that his colleague, Mr. Quarles, announced his decease 
in a feeling speech, which was followed by appropriate 
remarks by the Speaker of the House, Henry Clay, and 
by John Randolph, of Virginia. The son of Major David 
Walker, James V. Walker, represented Logan County in 
the Kentucky Legislature in 18 10. 

The records of the club show that these men were 
associated together for a practical and important purpose. 
The members were recognized leaders in the public 
affairs of the new western community. They were looked 
to for counsel upon the necessary duties of the hour in 
the formative period in Kentucky when population was 
rapidly increasing and local government had to be pro- 
vided. They felt the pressure of responsibility, and the 

work of the society was directed to the solution of those 

14 



98 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

problems which had to be determined in laying the 
foundations of civic and social order. It was a period 
of constitution - making. It was the time when the 
Federal Convention sat at Philadelphia to frame the 
Constitution of the United States. The patient study 
the club members gave to that great instrument when it 
was first promulgated, as will be seen in these pages, is 
a monument to their zeal for the public welfare; and the 
fruits of their labors were inevitably great, as the members 
coming in contact with their fellow-citizens were able to 
disseminate an amount of political knowledge productive 
of enlightenment and a healthy public sentiment. 

The influence of the members of the club in the 
public assemblies of the day was strong. Seven of 
these members were in the first convention of 1785, the 
whole number being twenty-eight. In the second con- 
vention of 1785, of the twenty -six members seven 
belonged to The Political Club. Ten were in the 
Convention of 1787, a body of thirty -eight members. 
As has been stated, some were in each convention, in- 
cluding the one of 1792, which framed the first consti- 
tution, and also the one of 1799, which framed the 
second constitution. 

Full and complete biographies of some of the mem- 
bers would present a history of Kentucky from the 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 



99 



beginning of its settlement past the first quarter of the 
ensuing century. They would show participation in all 
the events of importance for fifty years; through the 
contests with the Indians; through the separation strug- 
gle and the establishment of the State; through the 
eight years under the first constitution; through all 
the excitements of the Spanish conspiracy led by Wilkin- 
son ; through the conspiracy of Aaron Burr ; through the 
fierce resentment which flamed up at British impress- 
ment of American seamen, which led to the War of 1812; 
through that war, in which seven thousand Kentuckians 
bore an honorable part, from the battle of Tippecanoe 
to the battle of New Orleans; through the old court 
and new court controversy, and through the presidencies 
of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and 
Jackson. 

The changes in the material conditions of the coun- 
try, of which they were eye-witnesses, were greater than 
at any other period. They saw the primeval forest 
give way to cultivated farms, towns, and cities. They 
saw the blazed ways through the woods become turn- 
pike roads. They saw the introduction of steam navi- 
gation on the rivers and the beginning of railroad travel. 
They saw the western country fill up with inhabitants, 
and the addition of fourteen new States to the original 
thirteen. 



loo THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

The lives of men who were actors through a period 
so eventful are worthy of study. The limits of this 
work do not admit of more extended mention than in 
the brief sketches given, but a volume of biography 
would fail to do justice to the public services and per- 
sonal worth of many of the members of The Political 
Club. 

Organization. 

The minutes of the first and second meetings show 
the time and place The Political Club began its exist- 
ence, and that it was organized under a written consti- 
tution and rules of order. These minutes are full of 
interest. On the 27th day of December, 1786, there 
were assembled at the house of Judge Samuel McDowell 
six other men. Judge Harry Innes, Thomas Todd, John 
Brown, Christopher Greenup, John Belli, and Robert 
Craddock. The position and character of the five first 
named are historic. The other two are less known, but 
the fact that they were so associated with the others is 
evidence that they were leading men, as in fact they 
were. It is very suggestive that these persons, engaged 
in the active duties of life and under the circumstances 
surrounding them, conceived the idea of such a society. 
Those whom they invited to join with them were men 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. loi 

like themselves, the thoughtful, influential citizens of 
the Danville community. On that evening they selected 
a subject for discussion at the next meeting. 

At the second meeting, which was at the house of 
Thomas Barbee one week after the first, an organization 
was made under a written constitution and rules of 
order, and the subject selected at the preceding meeting 
was discussed. The following are the minutes of these 
meetings : 

DANVILLE, WEDNESDAY, THE 27th DAY OF DECEMBER, 1786. 

Present at the house of Samuel McDowell: Harry Innes, John 
Brown, Thomas Todd, Robert Craddock, Christopher Greenup, and 
John Belli. 

Resolved, that the persons now present do form themselves into 
a society to be hereafter distinguished and known by the style and 
title of " The Political Club," to be governed by such laws and regu- 
lations as shall be hereafter agreed on. 

Resolved, that the following gentlemen be invited to become 
members of the club, viz : George Muter, Peyton Short, Stephen 
Ormsby, William McDowell, Thomas Speed, Gabriel Jones Johnson, 
Peter Tardeveau, Thomas Allin, James Overton. 

Resolved, that Harry Innes, John Brown, Christopher Greenup, 
and John Belli be a committee to form a constitution for the regular 
government of the club, and also a set of rules and regulations for 
proceedings therein, and report the same to the next meeting. 

Resolved, that the next meeting of the club be held at the house 
of Thomas Barbee, in this town, on Saturday evening next, at six 
o'clock, or at such other place therein as the committee for forming 
a constitution shall appoint and direct. 



I03 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

The subject to be debated on Saturday evening next is " Whether 
the immediate navigation of the Mississippi River will contribute 
to the interest of this District or not?" 

Adjourned until Saturday evening, December the 30th, 1786. 

At a meeting of The Political Club at the house of Thomas 
Barbee, on Saturday evening, the 30th day of December, 1786, pres- 
ent eleven members. Resolved, that Mr. Thomas Speed be ap- 
pointed Secretary to this club, pursuant to the constitution. Re- 
solved, that Harry Innes, Esq., be appointed President for this 
evening, who took the chair accordingly. 

Mr. Brown, from the committee appointed to draw up the form 
of a constitution and rules for the regular proceedings of the club, 
presented, according to order, a constitution or form of govern- 
ment, which he read in his place and then delivered the same in 
at the clerk's table, where the same was read twice and debated 
by paragraphs, and several amendments made. 

The Constitution. 

A constitution or form of government agreed on by the mem- 
bers of The Political Club, as follows : 

1. A meeting of the club shall be held on every Saturday even- 
ing, at such place as shall from time to time be agreed upon, but 
for good cause shown a majority may appoint any other day at a 
longer or shorter period. On the appearance of six members they 
shall proceed to choose a president for that evening only, also such 
other officers whose places may be vacant. 

2. A secretary and treasurer shall be appointed, who shall 
respectively continue in office during good behavior, and upon the 
death, resignation, removal, or other disability of either, such 
vacancy to be supplied in such manner as the clerk may direct. 
They are to be members of the club and have the same privileges 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 103 

of debate and giving their vote on any subject as any other 
member. 

3. The Secretary shall keep exact minutes of the proceedings 
of the club in a book to be provided for that purpose, and to pre- 
sei-ve all papers that may be brought in and ordered to be filed, 
and divulge no secret that may be enjoined. 

4. Each member shall, from time to time, advance such sums 
of money as shall be adjudged necessar}^ for the expenses and 
other disbursements of the club to the Treasurer, who shall receive 
the same, and also the moneys arising from fines, and, with the 
assistance of the Secretary, shall settle all accounts against the 
club. 

5. On the non-attendance of any member from the club at any 
meeting, he shall be fined in such a sum as from time to time shall 
be agreed on by a majority of the club, unless at a future meeting 
it shall be determined that he had a reasonable excuse for his 
absence. 

6. When any member has subjected himself to a fine, he is not 
to be re-admitted until he pays the same or is excused. 

7. The club shall have power to inquire into any irregularity 
of its members, and if it shall appear on inquiry that any member 
has behaved himself beneath the character of a gentleman, or shall 
misbehave at any meeting, such member shall be expelled by order 
of a majority then present, or suffer such other punishment as the 
club may direct. 

8. The Treasurer shall, once in every month, lay before the 
club an account of all moneys by him received, and his disburse- 
ments thereof, for examination. 

9. No new members shall be admitted without the unani- 
mous consent of all the members of the club, to be taken by 
ballot either given by him or his proxy. Nor shall such election 
be made until three club nights have elapsed between the time 
the intended member's name shall be proposed and the day of 



I04 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

election, nor shall strangers be admitted into the room on any 
pretense whatsoever. 

ID. No member shall absent himself from the club-room, after 
taking his seat therein, for the space of fifteen minutes, until the 
hour of adjournment, without first obtaining a permission from a 
majority of the members then present. 

11. The President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and all other 
appointments, except the appointment of new members, shall be 
chosen by a majority of the members then present, and when there 
is an opposition the same shall be chosen b)- ballot. 

12. At the meeting of every club a subject shall be agreed on, 
and entered on the minutes, to be debated at the next meeting, and 
two members shall be appointed bj' rotation to introduce the same, 
who shall take opposite sides by lot, if not otherwise agreed on; 
but any other member may also debate thereon after the same shall 
be so introduced, and the determination shall be entered on the 
minutes. 

13. Power shall be reserved for the club to make such further 
reform in this constitution as maj' appear to be reasonable, pro- 
vided that such alteration shall be approved b}^ at least eight mem- 
bers then present. 

Resolved, N. C. D., that the said constitution or form of gov- 
ernment be received, held, and deemed as the constitution and 
form of government for the club, and that the same be subscribed 
by the members now present, and also by such others as may be 
admitted members of this club. 

Resolved, that Mr. Thomas AUin be appointed Treasurer, pur- 
suant to the constitution. 

Mr. Brown, from the committee appointed to draw up the form 
of a constitution and rules for the regular proceedings of the club, 
reported, according to order, certain rules and orders, which he 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 105 

read in his place and then delivered the same in at the clerk's 
table, where the same were again twice read and amended, as fol- 
lows: 

The Rules. 

Rules and orders adopted by The Political Club: 

That no member absent himself from the service of the club 
unless he have leave or be sick and unable to attend. 

That each member attend punctually at the house appointed 
for meeting, and, unless for good cause shown, on failing to attend 
within half an hour thereafter, he shall be subject to a fine of one 
shilling and sixpence, or on failing to attend at any meeting he 
shall be subject to a fine of three shillings; or if any member 
shall, without leave, absent himself from the club before the hour 
of eleven o'clock he shall be subject to a fine of one shilling and 
sixpence. 

That at each meeting of the club, before they proceed to any 
business, the Secretary do read over the orders for taking any 
matters into consideration at that meeting. 

That when any member is about to speak in debate, or to 
deliver any matter to the club, he shall arise from his seat, and 
without advancement from thence, except to a table appointed for 
that purpose, shall, with due respect, address himself to Mr. Presi- 
dent, confining himself strictly to the point in debate, and avoid- 
ing all indecent and disrespectful language. 

That when any member shall be speaking in address to the 
President no member shall pass between the person speaking and 
the chair, nor otherwise interrupt him unless by requesting the 
President to call to order, which any member may do when he 
shall think necessary, nor shall any member name another in 
debate. 

That no member speak more than twice in the same debate 
without leave of the club. 

IS 



io6 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

That while the President is putting any question no member 
shall entertain private discourse, stand up, walk into, out of, or 
across the room, or read any private book. 

That all motions, except such as are of a general nature, shall 
be reduced to writing before the question be put thereon, and the 
member who makes a motion may withdraw it before a division is 
given by the club. 

That no motion shall be admitted to consideration which is 
not seconded; but, when a motion is thus brought regularly before 
the club, the debate and division thereof shall not be interrupted 
by the admission of any other motion, except it be for the previous 
question, or for amending or postponing the original motion. 

That the sense of the club shall be taken by the members 
saying yea and nay, and by standing up or going forth, if occasion 
requires, and the ayes and noes shall be taken if required by any 
two members, and the members shall possess a right to enter pro- 
test. 

Resolved, N. C. D., that the said rules and orders be adopted 
and observed by the club in all their proceedings. 

Messrs. William Kennedy, Benj. Grayson, and Maurice Nagle 
were nominated to this club in order to be admitted members of 
this club. Ordered that their names do lie on the table, pursuant 
to the constitution. 

The question proposed on Wednesday last, as follows: "Whether 
the immediate navigation of the Mississippi River will contribute 
to the interest of this District or not?" was read, and, after solemn 
debate. 

Resolved, that the immediate navigation of the Mississippi River 
will not contribute to the interest of the District. 

The question proposed to be debated next meeting shall be, 
" Whether it will be to the advantage of this District immediately 
to separate from the government of Virginia and become an inde- 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 107 

pendent State or not?" and that Mr. Innes and Mr. Brown do 
introduce the same. 

Resolved, that each member present pay into the hands of the 
Treasurer the sum of six shillings, to defray the expenses of the club. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

The seriottsuess and business-like gravity of the club, 
and the practical character of the whole movement, are 
seen in the first questions taken up for consideration. 
They were the all-absorbing topics of the day. At no 
time in the subsequent history of Kentticky have the 
people been more profoundly stirred than they were by 
the questions of 1786. There was tirgent need for calm 
and dispassionate interchange of thought among the 
recognized leaders of the people. The benefit of the 
club in afi"ording opportunity for consultation among 
these leaders can not be overestimated. The conclusions 
reached, when closely scrutinized in the light of history, 
disclose intelligent thinking and sound jtidgment. 

The first question disctissed by the club was one of 
pressing importance to the people of Kentucky: "Whether 
the immediate navigation of the Mississippi River will 
contribute to the interest of this District or not?" 

After "solemn" debate the clttb decided this qitestion 
in the negative. A decision in the afiirmative would 
seem more nattiral. Why they decided as they did is a 



io8 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

puzzle difficult of satisfactory solution. Tlie minutes do 
not disclose au}^ reasons or arguments, and we are left 
to find them, if we can, from the situation of affairs 
with reference to the Mississippi River at that time. 
The navigation of this stream had been forbidden by 
Spain, which power then controlled its lower waters. 
The only hope for Kentucky to have any market for 
supplies produced was the river. If flat-boats could 
carry what the people had to sell down the Ohio and 
the Mississippi to the sea there was a prospect for trade 
and wealth, but if not there was none whatever. A 
singular statement is found in McMaster's History, 
Volume I, page 149. Speaking of the condition of 
Kentucky in 1784, he says: "Wheat fields and corn fields 
and orchards began to spring up in every direction, and 
already the wagons that brought out merchandise from 
Philadelphia went back laden with grain." 

If he had said the grain was transported by railway 
cars in 17S4 he could not have made a greater mistake. 
At that time there was no wagon road to Kentucky. 
All luggage that came over the Wilderness Road was 
carried on pack animals. That which came down the 
river could not be carried back the same way. There 
was no way for produce to go east. Flat-boats could 
not be carried up stream, and wagons could not cross 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 109 

the mountains. The river way, down to the sea, was 
absolutely essential to the future prosperity of Kentucky. 
It was the only outlet. Yet the question before the club 
was decided in the negative. 

Perhaps the word "immediate" in the question affords 
an explanation. It might have been considered that 
there was no immediate necessity for descending the 
river, and that the people could for a while employ 
their time to the best advantage in clearing and build- 
ing and fencing, thus laying the foundation for future 
rather than "immediate" convenience. But the history 
of that period does not make it certain that this expla- 
nation is correct. In the same year this debate was 
had, 1786, a proposition was submitted to the Congress 
of the States, by Mr. John Jay, which was reported to 
the people of Kentucky as a proposition to cede to Spain 
the control of the Mississippi for twenty-five or thirty 
years. They were greatly excited. The suggestion of 
being deprived of their only outlet was alarming. A 
convention was called to meet at Danville in May, 1787, 
to consider the subject. Much excitement in favor of 
the navigation of the Mississippi was expected. But the 
result of the meeting was as singular as the decision of 
the club. The historian, Marshall, says: "At the time 
and place recommended, they assembled, assumed the de- 



no THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

liberative form, and, after conferring, adjourned without 
day." Butler says: "The convention quietly adjourned 
without any definite action on the subject;" "a circvim- 
stance," says he, "not a little remarkable, considering 
the subject and the temper of those who composed the 
meeting. Kentuckians have not often assembled together 
and dispersed so quietly; a fire of resolutions might at 
least have been expected." It is possible that the Ken- 
tuckians apprehended that the demand for immediate 
navigation would lead to war with the Spaniards, and 
they did not feel prepared for it. 

Whatever it was that influenced both the club and 
the convention, the decision showed the conservative 
character of the members of the club, which also dis- 
played itself on other occasions. There was, as we now 
know, an unnecessary excitement upon the subject. The 
times required the counsels of thoughtful men. Certain 
restless spirits were suggesting separation from the 
States and an alliance with Spain. The decision of 
the club indicates no sympathy with that movement, 
and, as the members were the principal men in the 
convention of May following, it is but reasonable to 
conclude that they counseled and effected a moderation 
of views in the convention, and calmed the general 
feeling of apprehension. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. iii 



SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 1787. 

Present, ten members. Resolved, that Christopher Greenup, 
Esq., be appointed President for this evening, who accordingly took 
the chair. 

The question proposed on Saturday last, viz., "Whether an 
immediate separation of this District from the State of Virginia 
will tend to its benefit?" was read, and, after solemn debate, Re- 
solved, as the opinion of this club, that an immediate separation 
of this District from the State of Virginia will tend to its benefit. 

The question proposed to be debated next meeting is, "The pro- 
priety of separating this District from the State of Virginia upon 
the act entitled 'An Act concerning the erection of Kentucky into 
an independent State.' " Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 1787. 

The habit of the clixb to discriminate clearly and 
intelligently is shown in the selection of subjects. The 
general question of separation having been discussed 
and decided afl&rmatively, the next question was the 
propriety of separating according to the terms of the 
Act of the Virginia Legislature. In the year 1785 the 
people of Kentucky had memorialized the Legislature 
of Virginia upon the subject, and in January, 1786, an 
act was passed providing for the erection of Kentucky 
into a State. The act contained many clauses and vari- 
ous provisions touching many subjects. Whether these 
provisions would be acceptable and advantageous was a 



112 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

serious question to the people to be affected. It is easy 
to see that so important a measure demanded careful 
consideration. The minutes do not give any details of 
the discussion. They show that Honorable John Brown 
presided, and the question for debate was read and 
decided in the affirmative. It was five years after this 
discussion before Kentucky became a State. The delays 
were many and harassing, but the statesmen of Kentucky 
were firm in their loyalty, and patiently waited for the 
consummation of their wishes. 
The minutes are as follows : 

Resolved, that Mr. Thomas Allin be appointed Secretary pro 
tempore. Resolved, that John Brown be appointed President for 
this evening, who accordingly took the chair. 

Resolved, that the constitution of this club be amended as 
follows, to wit: In page the 3d, line 2d, insert one in the room of 
three, and in line the 3d night in the room of nights. 

The question proposed for this evening's debate, to wit, "The 
propriety of separating this District from the State of Virginia 
upon the act entitled 'An act concerning the erection of the 
District into an independent State,' " was read, and, after being 
solemnly debated. 

Resolved, as the opinion of this club, that an immediate sepa- 
ration of this District from the State of Virginia would tend to its 
benefit upon the terms prescribed in the act. 

Ordered that each member present do pay into the hands of 
the Treasurer the sum of six shillings, to defray the expenses of 
the club. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 113 

Resolved, that the Secretary, at half past six o'clock each club 
night, call over the roll and note down the member or members 
absent, who shall, on their first appearance in the club-room, render 
the cause of their absence to the club, and on failure thereof be 
subject to the fine in such case provided, and no excuse thereafter 
be received. 

Messrs. Willis Green and John Reed, junior, were nominated to 
this club in order to become members thereof. 

The subject to be debated at the next meeting shall be, 
"Whether representation by counties or by numbers is most 
eligible, and whether any other election is to be preferred," and 
that Mr. Johnston and Mr. Ormsby do introduce the same. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned until the next meeting in 
course. 

SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 1787. 

Present, all the members. Resolved, that Mr. Tardeveau be 
appointed President for the evening. Resolved, that Mr. R. Crad- 
dock be excused from his fine incurred by his absence for two club 
nights. 

The club not having time fully to investigate the subject of 
representation. Resolved, that it be postponed until the next club 
night. Resolved also, that the subject of election be postponed till 
the next club night. Resolved, that William Kennedy, Esq., be 
admitted a member of this club by unanimous consent. Resolved, 
that Mr. Benjamin Grayson be rejected as a member of this club, 
he not having a unanimous vote. Resolved, that Mr. Maurice Nagle 
be rejected, not having a unanimous vote. Mr. James Speed was 
nominated to become a member of this club. 

Resolved, that Mr. Brown, Mr. Greenup, and Mr. Belli be ap- 
pointed a committee to examine the accounts of the Treasurer and 
to make report the next club night. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned until Saturday next. 

16 



114 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 



SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 1787. 

Present, limes. Brown, Greenup, Belli, Craddock, Johnston, 
Ormsby, Allin, Todd, Speed, Tardeveau. Resolved, that Mr. Belli 
be appointed President for this evening. 

The question for this evening's debate, to wit, "Whether repre- 
sentation by numbers or by counties is to be preferred," was read, 
and, after being debated, Resolved, that representation by numbers 
ought to be preferred. On motion of Mr. Craddock, seconded by 
Mr. Johnston, ordered that the ayes and noes on this question be 
taken and inserted in the journal. The names of those who voted 
in favor of representation by numbers are Innes, Greenup, Belli, 
Ormsby, Allin, Speed, Tardeveau. Those who favored representa- 
tion by counties were Brown, Craddock, Johnston, Todd. 

At that time representation in Virginia was by conn- 
ties, without regard to population. The Kentucky con- 
vention of May, 1785, which petitioned the mother State 
for separation, called another convention to meet in the 
following August, and recommended that the delegates 
be elected on principles of equal representation, which 
meant by numbers rather than by counties. The his- 
torian, Butler, says: "This early and unanimous indi- 
cation of the democratic or popular spirit in one of the 
earliest assemblies of Kentucky is a faithful key to her 
political complexion." 

The club not having time to enter upon the discussion of the 
.second subject for this evening's debate, to wit, "Whether annual 
or other elections are to be preferred," Resolved, that it be postponed 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 115 

until the next meeting, and that Mr. Craddock and Mr. Allin do 
introduce the same. 

The chxb, according to order, proceeded to ballot for those gen- 
tlemen who had been nominated to become members of this club, 
and had lain upon the table pursuant to constitution. The com- 
mittee appointed to examine the ballots taken for the election of 
Mr. Willis Green reported that they found in favor of Mr. Green's 
admission nine ballots, and against it two. Resolved, therefore, that 
Mr. Green be rejected as a member of this club.* 

The committee appointed to examine the ballots for the admis- 
sion of Mr. John Reed, junior, reported that they found in favor of 
his election seven ballots, against it four. Resolved, that Mr. Reed 
be rejected as a member. 

On motion made by Mr. Brown and seconded by Mr. Belli, 
Resolved, that the Secretary be excused from his part of the ex- 
penses of this club. 

Resolved, that the committee appointed to examine the Treas- 
urer's accounts do make report thereof at the next meeting. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Johnston be appointed President for this 
evening. 

The question for this evening's discussion, to wit, "Whether 
annual or other elections are to be preferred," was read, and, after 
being debated. Resolved, that other than annual elections ought to 
be preferred. 

The logical sequence shown in the selection of sub- 
jects for discussion is here illustrated. Having deter- 
mined that representation should be by numbers, and 

*Mr. Greeu was afterward elected at another meeting. 



ii6 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

that other than annual elections were to be preferred, 
the next question in order was, "What period of elec- 
tion is most agreeable to the spirit of a free govern- 
ment? and that Mr. Todd and Mr. Speed introduce the 
same." 

The intensely practical character of the club is not 
more apparent in the subjects discussed than in the 
spirit of independence displayed in the selection of 
members. Not only were well-known persons rejected, 
but those who were admitted were expected to show 
appreciation of the fact. 

At this meeting it was Resolved, that it be a standing rule of 
the club that when any gentleman shall be elected a member 
thereof he shall attend within two club nights after his election, 
or on failure thereof forfeit his seat, unless the club be of the 
opinion that there was good cause for such absence. 

Resolved, that a committee of three members be appointed to 
revise the constitution of this club and make report. Ordered that 
Mr. Innes, Mr. Greenup, and Mr. Allin be appointed a committee 
for the above purpose. 

Whereas, George Muter, James Overton, Peyton Short, and 
William McDowell, Esqs., were heretofore invited to become mem- 
bers of this club, and having declined to attend, Resolved, there- 
fore, that they be not admitted as members unle.ss they be admitted 
in the manner prescribed by the constitution.* Resolved, that the 
balloting for Mr. James Speed be postponed until the next meeting 
of the club. Ordered that the report of the committee appointed 

*They were all subsequenth- admitted to membership in the regular way. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. tx-j 

to examine the Treasurer's accounts be postponed until the next 
club night. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY lo, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Craddock be appointed President for this 
evening. Resolved, that the subject for this evening's discus- 
sion, to wit, " What period of election is most agreeable to a 
spirit of free government?" be postponed until the next meeting 
of the club. 

No reason is assigned for the postponement, but as 
the minutes show the presence of only six members it 
may be inferred that the night was inclement. 

At this meeting Mr. Tardeveau sent in his resigna- 
tion, and the following resolution was passed; 

" Resolved, that the secession of Mr. Tardeveau as a member of 
this club be received, and that his letter to the President and Mr. 
Innes on this subject, which have been read, be filed with the Sec- 
retary." 

Resolved, that the balloting for Mr. James Speed be postponed 
until the next club night. 

Mr. Kennedy having represented to the club that his non- 
attendance since his election hath been on account of an indisposi- 
tion, which still continues. 

Resolved, that the reasons assigned by Mr. Kennedy for not 
having attended the club since his election are satisfactorj-. 

Ordered that the report of the committee for examining the 
Treasurer's accounts be postponed until the next meeting. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 



ii8 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 



SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1787- 

Resolved, that Mr. Thomas AUin be appointed President for this 
evening. Resolved, that the reasons given for the absence of Mr. 
Brown, Mr. Belli, and Mr. Greenup are satisfactory, and that the 
fines by such absence incurred be remitted. 

The question for this evening's discussion, to wit, " What period 
of election is most agreeable to the spirit of a free government?" 
was read, and, after being debated. Resolved, that it is the opinion 
of this club that biennial elections are most agreeable to the spirit 
of a free government. 

Resolved, that following be the question for the discussion of 
Saturday evening next: "Is the exclusive right of the Indian tribes 
to the extent of territorj' claimed by them founded on the laws of 
nature and of nations, and can they consistent with said laws be 
divested of such right without their consent?" Mr. Innes and Mr. 
Brown to introduce the same. 

Resolved, that the Treasurer's accounts do pass. 

George Muter, Esq., was nominated by Mr. Belli to be admitted 
as a member of this club. 

Ordered that the committee appointed to revise the constitu- 
tion do make report next Saturday. 

The following most important and significant reso- 
lution was adopted at this meeting: 

" Resolved, that a committee be appointed to prepare a Bill of 
Rights and Constitution or form of government which they shall 
think agreeable to and convenient with the local situation of this 
District, and make report, and that Mr. Innes, Mr. Brown, Mr. 
Greenup, Mr. Belli, Mr. Craddock, and Mr. Todd be a committee 
for the same." 



THE POLITICAL CL UB. 119 

The minutes of the club being incomplete, no report 
of this committee appears. Its appointment, however, 
to perform this duty is an impressive testimonial to 
the earnestness of these men in the arduous work they 
voluntarily took upon themselves, and as the club Avas 
largely represented in the first constitutional conven- 
tion of the State in 1792, it is fairly presumable that 
the work of this committee was carried into that con- 
vention and into the first constitution. 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Todd be appointed President for this evening. 

Ordered that the subject appointed for this evening's debate be 
postponed until the next meeting of the club. 

The committee appointed to examine the ballot for the admis- 
sion of Mr. James Speed report that they find he is unanimously 
elected a member. 

Ordered that a committee be appointed to revise the constitution, 
and that Mr. Innes, Mr. Greenup, Mr. Allin, Mr. Belli, and Mr. 
Brown be a committee for the same. 

Ordered that each member pay into the hands of the Treasurer 
the sum of six shillings. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 1787. 

Present, Mr. Brown, Mr. Greenup, Mr. Belli, Mr. Craddock, Mr. 
Allin, Mr. Todd, Mr. Thomas Speed, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. James 
Speed. Resolved, that Mr. Craddock be appointed President for this 
evening. Resolved, that the reasons given by Mr. Innes for his 



120 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

absence on Saturday evening last are sufficient, and that he be 
admitted to his seat without a fine. Resolved, that the reasons 
given for Mr. Kennedy's absence since his election as a member of 
this club are satisfactory, and that he be admitted to his seat upon 
his signing the constitution. Whereupon the constitution was read, 
and Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Speed, who was also elected a member, 
signed the constitution and took their seats. 

The question for this evening's debate, to wit, " Is the exclusive 
right of the Indian tribes to the extent of territory' claimed by them 
founded in the laws of nature and nations, and can they consistently 
with said laws be divested of such right without their consent?" 
The discussion was opened by Messrs. Innes and Brown. After 
debate it was " Resolved, that the Indian tribes have an exclusive 
right to the territory claimed by them by virtue of the law of nature 
and nations ; also, Resolved, that the Indian tribes can not, con- 
sistent with the laws of nature and nations, be deprived without 
their own consent of the exclusive right to the territory claimed 
by them." 

The minutes disclose nothing bearing on this dis- 
cussion. The decision certainly shows extraordinary 
moderation, calmness, and impartiality. It shows that 
these men had laid aside all revengeful feelings and 
approached the subject with a spirit of the utmost 
fairness. Their companion, Walker Daniel, who laid 
out the town where their meetings were held, had been 
killed by the Indians. Every member of the club was 
familiar with Indian atrocities and knew how the red 
men had murdered men, women, and children through- 
out the settlements, yet they so divested themselves of 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 121 

resentment as to deliberately resolve that the Indian 
had rights the white man was bound to respect.* 

Mr. Innes, from the committee appointed to revise the consti- 
tution, reported that they had come to a resohition thereon, which 
was read and agreed to, as follows : 

Resolved, that no member shall be admitted without the consent 
of two thirds of all the members of the club, and this consent to 
be taken by ballot given in person or by proxy; nor shall such 
election be made until one club night hath elapsed between the 
time the intended member's name shall be proposed and the day 
of election. 

The committee appointed to examine the ballots taken for the 
election of George Muter reported that he was unanimously elected 
a member. 

Messrs. Willis Green and John Reed, junior, were again nomi- 
nated in order to become members of this club. 

Resolved, that the following be the subject of discussion for 
the next meeting of the club: " Has a member of any government 

* Among the misapprehensions regarding the Indians is that they owned 
the country. They were not sufficiently numerous to own in any real sense 
of the word so extensive a territory as this country is. According to the 
best authorities the total number of Indians never exceeded three hundred 
thousand. According to Bancroft, at the time the Europeans came to America 
there were not more than one hundred and eighty thousand Indians all told 
east of the Mississippi River. Professor Seelye, in his introduction to Helen 
Hunt Jackson's "Century of Dishonor," says: "The present number of Indians 
in the United States does not exceed three hundred thousand, but it is 
possibly as large now as when the Europeans began the settlement of the 
North American Continent." 

The small State of Vermont has a population of over three hundred and 
fifty thousand. This fact shows how little real ownership that number of 
people could have of the entire United States. To parcel out the whole 

17 



122 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

a right to expatriate himself without leave?" aud that Mr. Greenup 
and Mr. Belli do introduce the same. 
Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

SATURDAY, MARCH lo, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Kennedj' be appointed President for this 
evening. 

Mr. Muter, who had been elected a member of this club, ap- 
peared in order to take his seat, whereupon the constitution being 
read Mr. Muter signed the same and took his seat. 

Resolved, that the subject for this evening's debate be post- 
poned until the next meeting of the club. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 17S7. 

Resolved, that Mr. Speed, senior, be appointed President for 
this evening. 

The question appointed for this evening's debate, to wit, " Has 
a member of any government a right to expatriate himself without 

country to three hundred thousand people gives ten square miles of land to 
each one. The State of Kentucky was not occupied at all by Indians. Ban- 
croft says : " The Five Nations could not have varied much from ten thousand, 
and their warriors strolled as conquerors from Hudson Bay to Carolina, from 
the Kennebec to the Tennessee." While not allowed to own a continent 
to the exclusion of the white race, they have been treated as though they 
had some ownership. Immense tracts of land have been accorded to them, 
and the government has given them provisions, money, and clothing con- 
tinuously. When the slaves were emancipated, four million human beings 
were left to care for themselves as best they could, without land or property 
of any kind whatever. The Indians have been treated generoush-, and instead 
of dying out, as many sentimental writers have deplored, there are as many 
now as ever, if not more. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 123 

leave?" was read, and, after being debated, Resolved, that any mem- 
ber of any government has a natural and inalienable right to 
expatriate himself without leave. 

Mr. Belli and Mr. Greeiuip opened the debate. 

The practical importance of this question is not as 
apparent now as it was a century or even less than a 
century ago. The War of 18 12 grew out of the asser- 
tion on the part of Great Britain of the right to her 
subjects everywhere, even upon American ships. It 
is only necessary to open Blackstone's Commentaries, 
published twenty years before the organization of The 
Political Club, and from that day to this a synonym 
of the law itself, to see why, in 1787, there should 
be a solemn debate upon the question of the right of 
expatriation. Blackstone taught that allegiance to one's 
native country cotild not be thrown off by any thing the 
subject could do; that every natural born British sub- 
ject remained a British subject at all times and places, 
unless Parliament by an act released him from his 
allegiance.* Such absurd teaching naturally led to the 

* Blackstone says; "Natural allegiance is such as is due from all men 
born within the King's dominion. For immediately upon their birth they 
are under the King's protection; at a time, too, when (during their infancy) 
they are incapable of protecting themselves. Natural allegiauce is there- 
fore a debt of gratitude which can not be forfeited, canceled, or altered by 
any change of time, place, or circumstance, nor by any thing but the united 
concurrence of the legislature. An Englishman who removes to France or 



124 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

assertion of the right of searching vessels and seizure 
of real or supposed British subjects even on American 
ships in American waters. But the better doctrine 
asserted in the backwoods of Kentucky began to pre- 
vail after the War of 1812. 

Resolved, that Mr. Willis Green be admitted a member of this 
club, he having a unanimous vote. 

The committee appointed to examine the ballots taken for the 
admission of Mr. John Reed, junior, report that they find in favor 
of his election — votes, and against it — . Resolved, that he be 
not admitted a member of this club.* 

Messrs. Humphrey Marshall and Joshua Barbee were nomi- 
nated to become members of this club. 

Resolved, that the following be the subject for discussion for 
next Saturday evening, to wit, "In a free government ought there 
to be any other qualification required to entitle a member thereof 
to a right of suffrage than that of freedom?" and that Mr. Crad- 
dock and Mr. Johnston do introduce the same. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

to China owes the same allegiance to the King of England there as at 
home, and twenty years hence as well as now, for it is a principle of uni- 
versal law that the natural-born subject of one prince can not by any act of 
his own, no, not by swearing allegiance to another, put off or discharge 
his natural allegiance to the former, for this allegiance was intrinsic and 
primitive, and antecedent to the other, and can not be divested without 
the concurrent act of that prince to whom it was first due. ... It is 
unreasonable that by voluntary act of his own he should be able at 
pleasure to unloose those bonds by which he is connected to his natural 
prince." 

* The numbers of ballots are not given. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 125 



SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Muter be appointed President for this evening. 

The subject appointed for this evening's debate, to wit, "In a 
free government ought there to be any other qualification required 
to entitle a right of suffrage than that of freedom?" after being read 
and debated was determined as followeth: Resolved, as the opinion 
of the club, that some other qualification ought to be required. 

It does uot appear whether property and education 
were both deemed essential or whether one would be 
sufficient. At that time in all the States something 
more was required than mere freedom, excepting that 
in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island the eldest sous of 
freeholders could vote without being tax-payers. In 
New Hampshire, New York, Delaware, Virginia, the Caro- 
linas, Georgia there was a property qualification ranging 
from two hundred and fifty to thirty-three dollars. 

The discussion of the subject in the club shows that 
the members were not content to accept without ques- 
tion the principle of universal sufi'rage, which, in the 
progress of our civilization, has been largely adopted. 

Ordered that each member present do pay into the hands of 
the Treasurer the sum of six shillings. 

Resolved, that the following be the subject for discussion for 
Saturday evening next, to wit, "Ought capital punishment to be 
inflicted for any other crime than that of murder or treason?" and 
that Mr. Allin and Mr. Ormsby do introduce the same. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 



126 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 



SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Innes be appointed President for this evening. 

Resolved, that Mr. Greenup have leave of absence until the first 
Saturday in June, 1787. 

Resolved, as the opinion of this club, that capital puni.shment 
ought not to be inflicted for anj' other crimes than that of murder 
or treason. 

The committee appointed to examine the ballots for the admis- 
sion of Mr. Humphrey Marshall reported that they found in favor 
of his election eight members, and against it five. 

Resolved, that he be not admitted a member of this club. 

Resolved, that Mr. Joshua Barbae be admitted a member of this 
club. 

Ordered that the Secretary and Treasurer be appointed a com- 
mittee for the purpose of securing a room for the use of the club 
on Saturday evening next. 

Resolved, that the following be the subject of discussion for 
Saturday evening next, to wit, "Ought the inhabitants of the Dis- 
trict of Kentucky to submit to the impressment of their arms and 
accouterments?" and that Mr. Todd and Mr. Speed, junior, do intro- 
duce the same. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

The question of capital punishment discussed at this 
meeting was a very interesting one. It is only necessary 
to refer to Blackstone's Commentaries to see how far the 
Kentucky pioneers were advanced beyond English senti- 
ment of the same date. Blackstone had published his 
Commentaries on English Law twenty years prior to this 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 127 

discussion, and copies of his work were in the possession 
of members of the club. He says: 

"It is a melancholy truth that among the variety of actions 
which men are daily liable to commit, no less than one hundred 
and sixty have been declared by act of Parliament to be felonies 
without benefit of clergy, or in other words to be worthy of instant 
death." 

He justly calls this a "dreadful list." Yet as late as 
1819 this dreadful list instead of decreasing in England 
was enlarged, there being then two hundred felonies on 
the statute-book punishable with death.* It is in the 
reign of Victoria that this barbarism has passed away. 

At the time the question was discussed in the club 
many offenses were punished with death in our Amer- 
ican States. By the Massachusetts law there were ten ; 
in New York more; and in Virginia twenty-seven, in- 
cluding counterfeiting and forgeries and certain thefts 
which were so punishable.f 

It is certainly worthy of note that the members of 
The Political Club, in a new community, came fully up 
to the advanced and liberal views which now prevail 
both in England and our own country. 

*" There are uo less than two huudred felonies on the statute-book pun- 
ishable with death." (Speech of Sir James Mcintosh in Parliament, March 2, 
1819. Quoted in Allison's History of Europe, Second Volume I, page 126.) 

tSee Sueed's History Kentuck}- Penitentiary, page 16, where the list is 
collated. 



128 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 



SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Brown be appointed President for this 
evening. 

Mr. Joshua Barbee, who had been elected a member of this 
club, signed the constitution and took his seat accordingly. 

The question appointed for this evening's debate, to wit, 
"Whether the inhabitants of the District of Kentucky ought to 
submit to the impressment of their arms and accouterments?" after 
being read and debated was determined in the negative. 

Ordered that Mr. Speed and Mr. Craddock and Mr. Todd be 
appointed a committee to inspect the Treasurer's accounts and make 
report. 

On a small piece of paper are found the memoranda 
or heads of the argument of one of the members on 
the subject of the impressment of arms: 

"What is the end of impressment?" "The design of impress- 
ment in general is to supply our requisites toward carrying on 
public defense." "Then whatever is necessary toward carrying on 
public defense ought to be supplied by every person." "Because 
their private and personal safety depends in a great measure on the 
success of their public defense." "The situation of the District of 
Kentucky has been such that every man could not have been 
obliged to keep a gun." " Why not submit to impressment of guns 
as provisions? Are not horses private property?" "Public good 
depends on private right; so it does, but what does private right 
depend on?" 

It is a natural inquiry, of what practical importance 
was the discussion of this question? The answer is, the 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 129 

existing Virginia laws made provision for the impress- 
ment of arms. It was provided by statute that, in order 
to equip and arm the militia when called into duty, such 
militia shall be furnished, if necessary, by impressing 
the arms and ammunition of the citizens, and any one 
not delivering them up when required should be im- 
prisoned. 

SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Johnston be appointed President for this 
evening. 

The question appointed for this evening's debate, to wit, 
" Whether the culture of tobacco in the District of Kentucky- 
will be beneficial to the citizens of the District?" Resolved, that 
it is the opinion of this club that the culture of tobacco will not 
be beneficial to the citizens of the District of Kentucky. 

Resolved, that the following be the subject for discussion for 
Saturday evening next, to wit, "If an Act of Assembly should 
be contrary to the Constitution, which ought to govern a judge 
in his decision?" and that Mr. Innes and Mr. Brown do introduce 
the same. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

The decision of the question concerning the culture 
of tobacco was that it was not beneficial. The members 
had a knowledge of its effects in Virginia, and they 
must have been familiar with Jefferson's Notes on Vir- 
ginia, a volume published in 1781. Speaking of tobacco 
Mr. Jefferson said: 



I30 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

"It is a culture productive of infinite wretchedness. Those 
employed in it are in a continual state of exertion beyond the 
power of nature to support. Little food of any kind is raised by 
them, so that the men and animals on these farms are badly fed, 
and the earth is rapidly impoverished." 

He strongly advocated the culture of wheat instead 
of tobacco. 

SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Thomas Allin be appointed President for 
this evening. 

Mr. Speed and Mr. Innes were excused from paying their 
fines for their absence at the last meeting. 

Resolved, that the subject appointed for this evening's debate 
be postponed for the discussion of Saturday evening next. 

Resolved, that Mr. Belli be granted leave of absence until 
December next. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

SATURDAY, MAY 5, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Todd be appointed President for this evening. 

The question appointed for this evening's debate, to wit, " If 
an Act of Assembly should be contrary to the Constitution, which 
ought to govern a judge in his decision?" after being read and 
debated was determined as follows : Resolved, as the opinion of this 
club, that when an Act of Assembly is contrary to the Con.stitution, 
the judge ought to govern his decision by the Constitution. 

Resolved, that the club in future be adjourned to the court- 
house, and that the hour of meeting be at half after three o'clock 
in the afternoon. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 131 

Resolved, that the followiug be the question for discussion for 
the next meeting of the club, " Would it be consistent with the 
policy of this District to encourage intermarriages with the inhab- 
itants thereof and the neighboring Indian tribes?" and that Mr. 
Johnston and Mr. Allin do introduce the same. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

The debate on the question whether the courts have 
the power to adjudge an act of the legislature uncon- 
stitutional has been mentioned as being noticed in the 
diary of the United States Paymaster, Major Beatty. 

In the present period of the history of our country, 
when courts of all sorts, even justices of the peace, pass 
upon the constitutionality of an act, any discussion of 
the proposition seems idle, but it was not so when the 
members of The Political Club were engaged in solving 
questions and mapping out new and original lines of 
civil government. In that day the powers of courts and 
legislatures were considered largely in the light of 
English precedents, and in England the Parliament 
was, as it is to this day, supreme. 

Blackstone says: "An act of Parliament is the highest 
authority that the Kingdom acknowledges upon earth." 

It was a new proposition that government should 
be and ought to be so framed that there should be a 
limit to the powers of the representatives of the people, 
and that there should be a tribunal to annul their acts. 



132 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

Chancellor Kent says: "This great question may be 
regarded as now settled, and I consider it to be one of 
the most interesting points in favor of constitutional 
liberty and of the security of property in this country 
that has ever been judicially determined." He also says 
the progress of this doctrine and the manner in which 
it has been discussed are worthy of notice. The first 
case he cities is one in North Carolina, i Martin's 
Reports, 48, of date 1787. The next is Rayburn's case 
in New York, 1791. The next is in South Carolina, 

1 Bay's Reports, 252, 1792; the next in Pennsylvania, 

2 Dallas, 304, 1795; it was also discussed in the Feder- 
alist by Alexander Hamilton. (No. 78.) 

Finally, in the great case of Marbury v. Madison, 
I Cranch, 137, in 1803, Chief Justice Marshall forever put 
the question to rest, and Kent says: "The principle in 
the English Government that Parliament is omnipotent 
does not prevail in the United States. . . . The law 
with us must conform in the first place to the Consti- 
tution of the United States, and then to the subordinate 
constitution of its own particular State, and if it in- 
fringes the provisions of either it is in so far void." * 

*It seems that the question came before the courts in several of the 
States. The case of the Judges, 4 Call's Reports, 135, was an interesting one. 
The Virginia Legislature passed an act which would have deprived the 
Appellate Judges of their seats. After a full discussion the judges decided 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 133 

In a very recent work of John Fisk, entitled " Civil 
Government in the United States," this subject is men- 
tioned in this striking manner: "The importance of 
this feature of civil government in the United States 
can hardly be overrated. It marks a momentous advance 
in civilization, and it is especially interesting as being 
peculiarly American. Almost every thing else in our 
fundamental institutions was brought to bear by our 
forefathers in a more or less highly developed condition 
from England, but the development of the written con- 
stitution, with the consequent relation of the courts 
to the law-making power, has gone on entirely upon 
American soil." It is not surprising then that the 
debate in The Political Club was one to be character- 
that they would proceed to business, for as they held their offices under the 
constitution the new law could not take them away if it were so intended. 

Judge Cooley, in his Constitutional Limitations, page i6o, cites Tevett v. 
Weedon, a Rhode Island case, where the judges refused to enforce a law 
punishing without trial by jury any one who discouraged the circulation of 
certain State bank bills as specie. The judges were impeached, and though 
not removed they were not re-elected, and others more pliable were put in 
office. The discussion in the club in 17S7 was at least contemporaneous with 
the earliest cases before the courts. It is hardly likely that the club could 
have had knowledge of the cases, but doubtless considered the subject 
independently of them. The difference between the law-making power in 
England and in America is well expressed by Justice Patterson, of Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1795, in Vanhorne v. Dorrance, 2 Dallas, 308. He says: "In England 
the authority of Parliament was without limit and rests above control. It is 
difficult to say what the Constitution of England is, because, not being reduced 
to written certainty and precision, it lies entirely at the mercy of Parliament. 



134 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

ized as it was by Major Beatty.* The teaching and 
preconceived opinions of the members naturally led to 
revere the law - making power, but they were coming 
steadily up to the light and were in the dawn of con- 
stitutional rights and constitutional liberty. 

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Speed, senior, be appointed President for this 
evening. Resolved, that the reasons given by Mr. WilHs Green for 
not attending since his election are reasonable and satisfactory. 
Whereupon he signed the constitution and took his seat. 

The question appointed for this evening's debate, after being 
read and debated, was determined as follows: Resolved, as the 
opinion of this club, that the encouragement of intermarriages 
between the inhabitants of this District and the neighboring Indian 
tribes would not be consistent with the policy of the District. 

William McDowell was nominated for membership. 

Resolved, that the following be the subject for discussion for 
the next meeting of the club, "Would it be to the interest and true 
policy of this District, should a separation from the State of Vir- 
ginia take place, to invite the inhabitants of Cumberland to unite 

It bends to every governmental exigency. It varies and is blown about by 
every breeze of legislative humor or political caprice." 

In .America, he says, every State has its constitution, which "contains the 
permanent will of the people and is the supreme law of the land. . . . What 
are legislatures? Creatures of the constitution; they owe their existence 
to the constitution; the}- derive their powers from the constitution; it is 
their commission, and therefore all their acts must be conformable to it or 
else they will be void." 

®See page 33. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 135 

with them in government?" and that Mr. Todd and Mr. Ormsby do 
introduce the same. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

It is difficult to conceive what arguments could have 
been used on the affirmative side of the question of 
intermarriage with Indians. That the question should 
have been discussed at all arouses a feeling of repug- 
nance. But the members of The Political Club had a 
better knowledge of the Indian character than persons 
of later generations. No degradation has ever attached 
to the admixture of Indian blood, and it may have been 
supposed by some that as occasional marriages between 
the whites and Indians, that of Pocahontas and Rolfe 
being a noted instance, had resulted favorably, that the 
practice might be not only tolerated but encouraged. 
But the decision of the question was in the negative.* 

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Muter be appointed President for this even- 
ing. Resolved, that the reasons given by Mr. Kennedy and Mr. 
Todd for their absence the last club night are sufficient. Re- 
solved, that Mr. Green have leave of absence for this evening. 

*It has been seen that it was the opinion of the cUib that the Indians 
had certain rights to the land. This and the fact that the question of inter- 
marriage was considered at all go to show that thoughtful men a century 
ago, who had the best opportunities for knowing Indian character, seem to 
have had liberal views concerning those mysterious people. In the earlier 



136 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

Resolved, that the reasons given by Mr. Ormsby for his absence 
for four club nights are satisfactory, and that he be readmitted 
without pa^'ing the fines. 

Resolved, that the subject for this evening's debate be post- 
poned till the next meeting of the club. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

SATURDAY, MAY 26, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Kennedy be appointed President for this 
evening. 

The committee appointed to examine the ballots taken for the 
admission of William McDowell reported his election by unani- 
mous consent. Resolved, that the decision on the subject appointed 
for this evening's discussion be postponed until the next meeting 
of the club. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Allin be appointed President for this evening. 

Resolved, that the Treasurer's accounts do pass. 

Resolved, that the following be the subject for the next meet- 
ing of the club, " What ought to be the powers in the second 
branch of the legislature in a commonwealth?" and that Mr. Ken- 
nedy and Mr. Speed do introduce the same. 

Resolved, that Mr. Muter have leave of absence for the two 
club nights next ensuing. 

days the terms " nobie savage" and "child of nature" were not so entirely 
poetical as at this time. Contact with civilization has not advanced the In- 
dian as much as it has injured him, perhaps. It is a singular fact disclosed 
by these old Political Club papers, that the pioneers of Kentucky, while 
fighting the Indians, were yet willing to do them justice, and saw enough 
good in the savages to lead them even to consider the possible propriety of 
intermarriage with the white race. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 137 

The discussion at this meeting was upon the ques- 
tion, "Would it be to the interest and true policy of 
this District, should a separation from the State of Vir- 
ginia take place, to admit the inhabitants of Cumber- 
land to unite with them in government?" Messrs. 
Todd and Ormsby were the leaders, and the question 
was decided in the aflErmative. 

The section called Cumberland was the central por- 
tion of the territory afterward erected into the State 
of Tennessee, the eastern portion being at that time 
known as Franklin. The Cumberland settlement had 
been started by James Robertson, in 1780. He, with a 
party, moved out to the west, passing through Cumber- 
land Gap and over the Wilderness Road as far as Crab 
Orchard. Then, instead of turning into the level lands 
of Kentucky, he took a southwestwardly course and 
made his way through the hills to the Cumberland 
River, at the point which afterward became Nashville. 
He there established a community which received the 
name of Cumberland. In the contests with the Indians 
Robertson visited the Kentucky settlements and re- 
ceived from them substantial aid. The question in The 
Political Club at Danville suggests again the influence 
of the routes of travel upon the events of that day. 

The way of reaching Nashborough from the east, and 

19 



138 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

the way of return thither, continued for some time to 
be through Kentucky. This brought the people about 
Danville in contact with the inhabitants of Cumber- 
land, and directed attention to that settlement, thus 
suggesting the desirability of uniting with them in the 
formation of a western government, such a movement 
being an entirely new proposition. 

SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 1787. 

The minutes of this meeting are fragmentary. They 

show that it was resolved that the club should adjourn 

until the last Saturday in June, and that the subject 

for discussion for the next meeting was, "Whether it 

is not more to the interest of a commonwealth that the 

legislative body should consist of two branches than 

one?" and that Mr. Craddock and Mr. Speed introduce 

the same. 

SATURDAY, JUNE 30, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Samuel McDowell be appointed President 
for this evening. 

The only other minute of this meeting is: 

Resolved, that the decision on the subject appointed for this 
evening's meeting be postponed until the next meeting of the club. 

It would appear from this that discussion was had, 
but no decision. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 139 



SATURDAY, JULY 7, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Ormsby be appointed President for this even- 
ing. Resolved, that Mr. Barbee and Mr. Green, who were absent 
at last meeting of the club, be excused. 

The question postponed at the last meeting of the club, to wit, 
"Whether it is not more to the interest of a commonwealth that 
the legislative body should consist of two branches than one?" was 
read and debated. Resolved, as the opinion of this club, that it 
would be more to the interest of a commonwealth that the legisla- 
tive body should consist of two branches than one. 

The committee appointed to examine the ballots taken for the 
admission of Matthew Walton reported that they found all the 
ballots in favor of his admission. Resolved, that Mr. Matthew 
Walton be admitted a member of this club. 

Resolved, that the following be the subject for the next meet- 
ing of the club: "What ought to be the powers of the second 
branch of the legislature in a commonwealth?" 

SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Barbee be appointed President for this even- 
ing. Resolved, that the subject appointed for this evening's discus- 
sion be postponed until the next club night. Resolved, that Mr. 
AUin have leave of absence for this evening. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 

SATURDAY, JULY 28, 1787. 

Resolved, that Mr. Todd be appointed President for this evening. 
Resolved, that Mr. Brown be excused for his absence the four nights 
last preceding. Resolved, that Mr. William McDowell be excused 
for his absence the last club night. 



I40 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

The subject postponed for the debate of this evening was read 
and again postponed for the discussion of the next club night. 

Resolved, that Mr. Brown, Mr. Innes, and Mr. Allin be appointed 
a committee to revise the constitution of the club. Resolved, that 
the next meeting of the club be Saturday, the nth day of August. 

Ordered that the club be adjourned. 



SATURDAY, AUGUST ii, 1787. 

Mr. McDowell, junior. President. 

Mr. Barbee, Mr. Speed, senior, and Mr. McDowell, senior, ex- 
cused. Discussion postponed, and ordered that the club adjourn 
until August 25th. 

From this date the minutes of the club are not 
among the papers. The work of the club can only 
be gathered from fragments of paper and disjointed 
memoranda. There is nothing to show what conclusion 
was reached upon the discussion of the question, "What 
ought to be the powers of the second branch of the 
legislature?" but in the discussion of the Constitution 
of the United States, which afterward followed, there 
are expressions which show the sentiments of some of 
the members. 

Although the club had in February, 1787, debated 
the question whether annual or other elections were to 
be preferred, it seems that in the sitmmer or autumn 
of the same year they recurred to the subject and dis- 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 141 

cussed, "What period of elections is most agreeable to 
the spirit of a free government?" 

A brief mention of this discussion is preserved, not 
in any regular minute, but upon a scrap of paper, the 
smallness of which illustrates one of the features of 
that day in Kentucky. It is easy to believe paper was 
a scarce article with the members of the club, and they 
used it sparingly. Upon a bit of coarse paper, once 
white but now yellow, is written in excellent characters 
the following, being doubtless the head of some mem- 
ber's argument: 

" Before we can properly discuss this question it will be neces- 
sary to inquire, What is the spirit of a free government? In the 
first place the spirit of a free government is that the people alone 
govern. In the second place, that the people should be governed 
by just, equal, and wise laws. 

-To inquire into what period will most certainly produce this, 
weekly or monthly elections would certainly secure the people the 
government. Then why is the period carried from weekly or monthly 
to annual > The more effectually to secure to them their freedom. 
I do not conceive that their freedom and happiness consist so much 
in their governing themselves as in the laws by which they are 
governed. Can I be said to be free if the laws are so weak as 
not to secure my property and defend my person? 

"To prove that we shall not be so well represented by annual 

as by longer election If we are better represented, our laws 

must certainly be better. If our laws are better, are we not more 
happy and more free?" 



142 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

December 29, 1787, the question was in the form of 
a resolution : 

Resolved, that it would be most conducive to the safety of a 
republic that the second branch of the legislature should be elected 
by representatives chosen with power for that purpose. 

This method of electing senators was provided in 
the first Constitution of Kentucky, framed four years 
later, and, as we have seen, several members of the 
club became electors of the senate. These electors were 
chosen every four years, and formed a college for the 
choice "of men of the most wisdom, experience, and 
virtue in the State as senators," and they also selected 
the governor. This arrangement continued until the 
year 1799, when a new constitution made a change. 

SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 1788. 

Resolved, that Mr. Barbee be appointed President for this 
evening. 

The question discussed was, "Whether the emission of a paper 
currency would be an advantage to the inhabitants of this District." 

The decision was. Resolved, as the opinion of this club, that 
the emission of a paper currency would be injurious to the inhab- 
itants of this District. 

There are fortunately preserved a few memoranda of 
this discussion : 

Mr. Barbee urged "the bad policy of emitting a paper currency, 
for want of a sufficient fund to redeem the same." 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 143 

Mr. Muter thought "civil list warrants would be better perhaps 
than paper currency." 

Mr. Innes suggested: "Emit a small sum which must be taken 
up each year, and a new emission for each year." 

Mr. Greenup said: "Money is the sign of wealth, and paper 
the sign of that sign. Better receive commutables and give credit 
in taxes for what they will sell for." 

Mr. Innes said: "We are without a circulating medium, and of 
course something must be done in order to support the government." 

Mr. Muter said: "To make paper currency legal tender is fatal 
to it; on the other hand, specie has an intrinsic value." 

Mr. McDowell said: "No fund is necessary for the support 
of a paper currency but the due collection of taxes." 

Mr. James Speed said: "Paper currency is hated as the devil." 

Mr. McClung said: "Affluence is dangerous to the morals of 
man. Paper currency perhaps a temporary relief. The necessity of 
a paper currency or circulating medium depends upon the particular 
occupation and situation of a country. A trading country has a 
greater necessity for money than one that depends upon its own 
manufactures for support." 

It would be diflScult to frame a more apt definition 
of money and paper than that given by Mr. Greenup: 
" Money is the sign of wealth, and paper the sign of 
that sign." 

DISCUSSION OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED 

STATES. 

The records of the club contain nothing which shows 
more impressively its intense earnestness in the study 
of questions of government than the brief notes of the 



144 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

discussion of the Constitution of the United States. 
That great instrument was completed in 1787, and was 
printed on a sheet of paper, folio size, at Alexandria, 
Virginia. Appended to it is the letter of George Wash- 
ington, President of the Convention, submitting it for 
consideration. A copy found its way to the club, and is 
preserved among the papers. On the margins opposite 
most of the sections are marks showing the sentiment 
of the club. Many of these marks are the simple word 
"agreed;" the word "amended" often occurs, also "dis- 
agreed to," "rejected," "expunged," "struck out." 

The consideration of this important subject began 
in February, 1788, George Muter resolving that "it is 
the opinion of this club that the constitution ought to 
be preceded by a bill of rights." 

It is well known that this feature was added to the 
constitution by the amendments made at the first session 
of Congress under the new government. 

The time occupied in the discussion of the constitu- 
tion shows the patience and thoroughness of the club 
in its work. The discussion ran through four months, 
ending in May, 1788. At the conclusion a committee 
was appointed " to revise the resolutions of the club as 
far as relates to the Federal Constitution and make 
report." This committee was as follows: Messrs. Muter, 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 145 

Innes, Greenup, Dougherty, William McDowell, Todd, 
and Overton. 

The work of this committee was well performed, the 
result being the production of the entire constitution 
according to the views of the club. Among the papers 
is found a bulky document on large paper, written in 
the elegant chirography of the Secretary, entitled "The 
Constitution of the United States as amended and 
approved by The Political Clvib." It is the entire 
constitution written out to conform to the ideas of 
the volunteer convention sitting at Danville. 

Fragments of paper contain some of the comments 
of the members, as follows: 

Federal Constitution, Article I, Section i. 

Mr. Greenup objected to two branches in the government, 
there being but one interest in a republican government, and 
moved against it. Mr. Todd seconded the same. 

Mr. McDowell in favor of a senate. 

Mr. Muter — Men since the creation of the world have been 
prone to domination and ever will be — hence a necessity for a 
check. 

Mr. Innes — Ninety -nine men out of a hundred possessed of 
power will abuse it. Without a senate, one State will have a 
power of imposing on another, one having a greater number of 
representatives. A senate in this case would be a very proper 
check. 



146 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

Mr. Speed — One set of men jhaving power have always abused 
it — even God Almighty's own men, the clergy, abuse the power 
given them — a check necessary. 

Mr. Greenup — Does the name senate make a man virtuous? 
Why fear corruption and thirst of power from the House of Repre- 
sentatives only? Find a senate of superior virtue. Admitted. 

Article ist, adopted. 

Mr. Muter — Section 2, Clause 3, proposed to reduce the number 
of representatives to one for every sixty thousand instead of thirty 
thousand. Objected to. 

Mr. Muter objected to the Vice - President of tlie 
United States being President of the Senate. This 
objection seems to have met the approval of the other 
members. Their idea was embodied in their amended 
instrument, which did away altogether with the office of 
Vice-President. They provided that " the Senate of the 
United States shall choose its own Speaker." 

Among the papers is found a small separate package 
inclosed by a wrapper and labeled "Resolutions concern- 
ing the Federal Constitution." These are here given, 
for the reason that they show how concentrated was the 
thought of the members upon the subject : 

Resolved, that it is the opinion of this club that the Federal 
Constitution ought to be preceded by a Declaration of Rights, in 
which it should be clearly expressed that the Congress of the United 
States shall not have power by law to alter, repeal, or change any 
part of the Constitution, and that all laws contrary to the true spirit, 
intent, and meaning of the same shall be void. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 147 

Resolved, as the opinion of this chib, that every bill wliich shall 
have passed the House of Representatives and Senate (money bills 
excepted) before it becomes a law be presented to the President of 
the United States, and by him laid before the Executive Council 
and Judges of the Supreme Court for their opinion on the same, 
to be by him with the advice and consent of the council and judges 
approved and signed, when it shall become a law, or returned with 
their objections to that House in which it shall have originated ; 
and that every order, resolution, or vote (except in case of 
appropriation of money), or on questions of adjournment, shall be 
proceeded on in the same manner, which House is to enter the 
objections on their journal and proceed to reconsider them. If after 
such reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass 
the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other 
House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved 
by two thirds of that House it shall become a law. But in all such 
cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and 
nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill 
shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively. If any 
bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays 
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall 
be a law in like manner as if it had been signed as before directed, 
unless the Congress by its adjournment prevent its return, in which 
case it shall not be a law. 

Article I, Section 3. Strike out Clauses 4, 5, and 6, and insert 
Resolved, as the opinion of this club, that the Senate ought to have 
the power of choosing their Speaker and all their other officers, and 
the sole power to try all impeachments under the Federal Constitu- 
tion. When sitting for that purpose they shall be on oath or 
affirmation, and no person shall be convicted without the concur- 
rence of two thirds of the members present. 

Article I, Section 3. Resolved, as the opinion of this club, that 
the Senate of the United States ought to be composed of two 



148 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof for three 
years, and each senator ought to have one vote, and immediately 
after they have assembled they ought to be divided into three 
classes — the seats of the senators of the first class to be vacated 
at the end of one year, the second class at the end of the second 
year, the third class at the end of the third year, and no member of 
the Senate be again eligible for three years after the vacation of 
his seat. 

Article I, Section 4. Resolved, that the times, places, and man- 
ner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be 
prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof; strike out the 
remainder of the paragraph. 

Article III, Section i. Strike out from "and" in the second 
line to the word "the" in line four, and insert "at least one inferior 
court in each State." 

An interesting discussion took place upon a motion 
to amend one of the clauses defining the powers of 
Congress. The Constitution as framed and as it now 
stands provides that Congress shall have power "to pro- 
vide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of 
the Union," etc. 

Mr. Muter moved to strike out the words "execute 
the laws of the Union." His motion was seconded by 
Mr. Speed. 

The motion was voted down. Mr. Innes then moved 
to insert the word "enforce" instead of the word 
"execute;" seconded by Mr. McDowell. This amend- 
ment was carried. In the debate Mr. Muter opposed 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 149 

the amendment, expressing his fears in calling in a 
military force. That the civil power was sufficient; 
that militia when employed are under militarj^ gov- 
ernment, and therefore dangerous to freedom. That 
the case is unprecedented. He was seconded by Mr. 
Speed. 

Mr. Innes and others thought the military force 
necessary to enforce the collection of taxes, and instanced 
the case of Massachusetts. The word enforce was agreed 
to. This nice distinction in the use of words was well 
taken. The regular execution of the laws of the United 
States is the work of civil officers. There is no need 
to call out the militia to "execute" the laws. That is 
done in regular course. It is only in cases of emergency 
that the militia can ever be needed, and then it is 
more proper to use the word "enforce" than the word 
"execute." 

The notes show that Mr. Innes "wished that there 
might be a clause in the second article which should 
make the President of the United States ineligible for 
a certain term of years. Mr. Greenup seconded this 
motion, and it was agreed to. The constitution as revised 
by the club provides that the President "shall hold his 
oflSce during the term of four years, after which period 
he shall be ineligible for the four succeeding years." 



I50 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

It also provides that "no member of the Senate shall 
be eligible for three years after the vacation of his seat." 

The clause that the Chief Justice shall preside over 
the Senate in cases of impeachments is left out. 

But while the club seemed to think the Senate could 
provide its own presiding ofl&cer without calling on the 
Supreme Court for one, it showed its great respect for 
that court by the adoption of the clause to the effect 
that every bill, except money bills, should be submitted 
to the Supreme Court before it became a law. 

Consideration of the Constitution ended May 17, 1788. 
Subsequent to that date the notes of meetings are frag- 
mentary. They are sufficient to show that the club con- 
tinued its work. Christopher Greenup presided at a 
meeting May 31, 1788. At the meeting June 14, 1788, 
Mr. Dougherty was granted leave of absence iintil No- 
vember I, 1788. 

It appears from a note of a meeting February 7, 
1789, that Mr. Allin was President; that the question 
was, "Are the present existing laws concerning citizen- 
ship founded on principles of sound policy?" 

For some reason which does not appear, it seems the 
club had recurred to the subject of the Constitution of 
the United States, as there is this memorandum of a 
resolution at this meeting: "Subject of the Federal 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 151 

Constitution postponed until January next." While there 
are no minutes of the meetings, yet it appears the dis- 
cussions were continued. 

Views of the Club as to Slavery. 

There is but one thing in the records of the club to 
indicate the views of the members on the slavery ques- 
tion. The Constitution of the United States contained 
a clause providing that Congress should pass no law 
prohibiting the importation of slaves prior to the year 
1808. This clause permitted the slave trade to continue 
as it was for twenty years from the time the Constitu- 
tion was made. The resolution of The Political Club 
expunged this clause. The members were willing to 
allow Congress to deal with the odious business at any 
time, and as soon as it saw fit to do so. 

Other Questions. 

It appears that the club continued its regular Satur- 
day sessions, but there are such slight memoranda that 
they can not be mentioned definitely. Resolutions and 
questions on small pieces of paper are all that can be 
found. The following are some of the questions : 

" Whether the admission of tobacco as a commutable for the 
discharge of taxes in the District of Kentucky will not prove a 



152 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

real injury to the inhabitants at large, provided no other com- 
mutable is admitted? " 

"Whether, in a political view, polygamy ought to be tolerated 
in a free State?" 

"Are the present existing laws concerning citizenship founded 
on principles of sound policy?"* 

The following resolution, found among the papers 
of the club without date, shows the desire of the mem- 
bers to have the benefit of the best talent in the State, 
and it also illustrates what has been said concerning 
the peculiar advantages possessed in that day by the 
town of Danville, by reason of its situation on the 
great highway of travel : 

"Whereas, this society was instituted for the purpose of acquir- 
ing political knowledge, and it hath been suggested to this club that 
some gentlemen of abilities are desirous of becoming members 
thereof, who are not residents of the neighborhood, whose busi- 
ness will frequently call them to this place, and therefore render 
their attendance convenient; Resolved, that the admitting of gen- 
tlemen of merit non-residents of the neighborhood to become mem- 
bers of this club will tend to the promoting of political knowledge ; 
that hereafter, if any gentleman shall become a member hereof he 
shall incur no fine for his non-attendance except for defaults aris- 
ing during his stay in the neighborhood." 

The meetings of the club were sometimes at the 
house of Samuel McDowell, sometimes at the house of 

* It is reasonabU' certain that the discussion of this question occupied 
more evenings than one. The subject was of the most vital importance, and 
brought under review the suitability of the Virginia laws to the new condi- 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 153 

Joshua Barbee, and sometimes at the tavern kept by 
Benjamin Grayson. In May, 1787, it was resolved that 
the meetings be held in the court-house, and that the 
hour of meeting be half past three o'clock p. M. This 
is a significant minute. It was a little after this date 
Major Beatty heard the debate on the question as to 
the power of the courts to adjudge an act of the legis- 
lature unconstitutional. He noted in his journal that 
the debate lasted until after midnight. The Treas- 
urer's accounts show that the members took their sup- 
per at Grayson's tavern. From these facts it appears 
that the meetings of the club began in the middle of 
the afternoon and lasted until midnight. 

The Treasurer of the club kept account of all moneys 
received from fines and dues and special assessments. 
He paid it out for the supplies at Grayson's tavern and 
for the regular evening's supply of the staple article 
of refreshment which Kentuckians of that day regarded 
as essential to health. The Treasurer was Thomas Allin, 
though it appears that Mr. Overton also served in that 
capacity at one time. 

The minutes show that a committee was regularly 

tions and necessities which had arisen among the inhabitants of Kentucky. 
The new community had many phases of society which did not exist in the 
parent State. The views of the club upon many subjects diflFered, as we 
have seen, from the established usages of the day. 



154 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

appointed to audit the Treasurer's accounts. The re- 
port of one of these committees is worthy of preserva- 
tion, as showing the orderly manner in which the busi- 
ness of the club was condu.cted: 

"Your committee have examined the accounts of the Treasurer 
to them referred, and find that there has been paid into the Treasury, 
on the 30th of December last, the sum of /3.6.0, being the deposit 
of eleven members at six shillings each, and on the 13th day of 
January last, the further sum of ^2.14.0, being the deposit of nine 
members, amounting on the whole to ^6.0.0. 

" Your committee also find that there has been disbursed for 
the use of the club, on the 30th day of December and on the 6th 
day of January last, the sum of ^3.6.6, in one account, and on 
the 13th day of the same month the further sum of ^1.17.6, 
amounting in the whole to ^5.2.0, which leaves a balance in the 
Treasurer's hands of eighteen shillings to be appropriated to the 
further use of the club, as will more fully appear by the annexed 
statement."* 

"The inevitable humors which must have been a feature of the club are 
not recorded, but on stray scraps of paper are found indications of other 
interests beside those of the debates. A letter from Christopher Greenup, 
dated December 29, 1787, addressed to the President, begs leave to inform 
the club of his safe arrival and his desire to continue a member. He says : 
"When the motives are considered which drew me from home in March 
last, and delays which generally attend that business, of which the club are 
sufficiently informed, I can but flatter myself that my absence will be deemed 
excusable, and that they will be pleased to re-admit me as a member without 
paying the fines incurred by the constitution." It would not be hard to guess 
the character of the " business " which caused this member to journey back 
over the Wilderness Road to his old home in Virginia and remain from March 
until December, but on a fragment of paper, upon which he had written a reso- 
lution, chanced to have been torn from a letter he had written but had not 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 



155 



The minutes also show that several aniendnients were 
made to the constitution and rules of the club, and that 
all their regulations were strictly observed. A fact 
worthy of consideration further illustrates the singular 
earnestness of the members and the sense of duty and 
responsibility they evidently felt. While some of the 
members resided in the town of Danville, the greater 
number had their homes in the " neighborhood," that 
is, in the country around, at distances varying from a 
mile or two to ten miles. The minutes show attendance 
of the most creditable regularity, and fines for non- 
attendance were only remitted by resolution of the club. 

The consideration of all the various subjects nec- 
essarily broadened and enlightened the minds of the 
members, as the natural range that discussion takes 
brought under view those things which either intimately 

sent, aud on the opposite side, are found in fragments of lines and words, 
"idea of niy attachment" "so fine a young lady" "heart" "love" "will }-ou 
take" "wife". These are unmistakable. 

Upon a small piece of paper is found this poetical conceit : 

1 by whom I set great store ; 

and took his word therefor; 
and nought but words I got, 
but sue him I would not. 
friend \ which pleased me very well, 
but sad it is to tell : 
quite away from me fell ; 
as I had heretofore, 
and pla5' the fool no more. 



had both 




and a 


lent my 




to my 


asked my 




of my 


lost my 




and my 


saw mj' 


money • 


with my 


got my 




from my 


had my 




but my 


may have 




and a 


'11 keep my . 




and my 



156 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

or remotely connected themselves with the questions. 
While the subjects before the club were those which 
had an immediate bearing on the circumstances and 
condition of the inhabitants of Kentucky, it is easy 
to see how the arguments would be laden with every 
illustration that could be adduced from history. In- 
deed, the very fact that the discussions revolved so 
continuously upon kindred topics would aflford the most 
prolonged mental excitation, and encourage research and 
reflection. The extended duration of the club, running 
through four consecutive years, must have led to the 
acquisition of such published writings upon the subjects 
considered as were obtainable. It is not probable that 
the "packs" which were first carried over the mountains 
to the "Land of Kentucke" were burdened with books, 
nor would there be a demand for them if the sole occu- 
pation of the settlers had been physical encounter with 
the roughness of wilderness living. There was needed 
that which would stimulate a desire to bring out the 
law books and histories and other publications. That 
this was done there is suflBcient evidence, and nothing 
could have had a stronger influence in this particular 
than the debates in The Political Club.* 

*Mr. W. J. McConathy, a member of the Filson Club, states that his 
grandfather brought out two mules' burden of books, and the fact that two 
pack animals were onlj- loaded with books created considerable comment. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 157 

The high type of the men constituting The Political 
Club is evident from the sketches which have been 
given. They were all well educated, and many of them 
possessed the peculiar accomplishments characteristic of 
the statesmen of that period whose fame and achieve- 
ments are linked with the founding of the American 
Republic. That so many men of this class were found 
in and near the little town of Danville is very sug- 
gestive of the character of the material which immi- 
grated to Kentucky in the early days. Associated with 
the more unlettered but courageous and enterprising 
movers was a large element of the best culture and 
talent that could be found in the Atlantic States. 
Young men of the best families, who had enjoyed the 
advantages of schools, had been trained in law offices 
and clerks' offices, and under the veteran surveyors 
whose occupation in that day was one of the greatest 
activity and importance, were numerous among them. 

Other evidences of the enlightened character of the 
first settlers of Kentucky are abundant. Family tradi- 

There is now before the writer an invoice of books sent out by the old 
Philadelphia publisher and bookseller, Mathew Cary. It shows more than a 
hundred different works. Among them are six "American Constitutions," 
De Lolme's British Constitution, Blackstone's Commentaries, Vesey's Reports, 
Blackstone's Reports, Harrison's Chancery Practice, Hinde's Chancery, Leach's 
Crown Law. 



158 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

tions and private records are numerous throughout the 
boundaries just mentioned, within which, as we have 
seen, the settlers first located. Within the same bound- 
aries, and with a membership co-extensive with the 
same, there existed the " Kentucky Society for the 
Promotion of Useful Knowledge," the object of which 
is shown by its name. While ver}^ little is recorded of 
it in history, yet the existence of such a society as 
early as 1786 can but be regarded as the outgrowth of 
a genuinely intelligent public sentiment.* In these first 
days of Kentucky a newspaper was published at Lex- 
ington, printed on a press brought out on pack animals. 
At the Royal Spring, Georgetown, a paper-mill was 
established, and books were printed upon the paper 
there made, and bound in leather tanned in a Kentucky 

*See Collins' History, where the names of the members are given. 
The whole number of members was thirty-eight, and their residence was 
not confined to any special locality, j-et fifteen of the thirty-eight were 
members of the club. The account in Collins' History simply shows the 
existence of the society, and that the members were requested by a published 
advertisement to send their ballots for officers to the Secretary, Mr. Thomas 
Speed. The present writer is able to supplement the account in Collins by 
giving the responses, the)' being in excellent preservation in the papers of 
the Secretary. 

The committeemen elected were George Muter, Caleb Wallace, Harrj' 
Innes, James Garrard, Robert Johnson, Humphrey Marshall, and Levi Todd. 
The curator elected was Christopher Greenup. The Treasurer, John 
Coburn. 

Those who received votes, but not enough to elect, were James Parker, 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 159 

tan-yard. The rapid progress of the new community 
is strikingly shown by the fact it began the publication 
of the decisions of the courts almost as soon as any of 
the Atlantic States, and even in advance of some of 
them. Manufacturing also started,* and the services of 
the school-teacher were invoked from the beginning. 
No more noted teacher than Joshua Fry ever trained 
young men in Kentucky, and he began his work in the 
pioneer days. At Danville, before 1790, the first law 
school in Kentucky was taught by George Nicholas. At 
the same place Doctor Ephraim McDowell achieved his 
world-wide fame. The church and school -house were 
side by side. The observances of religion in constituted 
churches was one of the earliest features of Kentucky. 
In the great immigration of 1781 the "traveling church" 

Joseph Crockett, James Speed, Isaac Shelby, Thomas Todd, Samuel McDowell, 
James Brown, Willis Green, Stephen Ormsby, William McDowell, Thomas 
Allen, Joshua Barbee, Robert Todd, and John Brown. 

*As early as 1789 a society for promoting manufactures was organized at 
Danville, and resulted in the establishment of a cotton factory at that place, 
the machinery being brought from Philadelphia, landed at Limestone, and 
carried from thence to Danville. 

The promoters of this enterprise deserve to be all named, and in the 
list it will be noticed how many were members of The Political Club — thirteen 
of the twenty-nine. The list of names entire is as follows: James Dunlop, 
John Cochran, John Warren, Christopher Greenup, Benjamin Field, Peyton 
Short, James Wilkinson, Thomas Lewis, Abraham Buford, George Nicholas, 
John Brown, William McDowell, Joshua Barbee, B. Tardeveau, P. Tardeveau, 
W. Nagle, Baker Ewing, Thomas Barbee, Walter E. Strong, William Reed, 



i6o THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

came out from Virginia, being an entire church — mem- 
bership and minister — moving in a body like the Israel- 
ites of old.* 

Among the landmarks in Kentucky at the present 
day are numerous fine old brick and stone residences 
built more than a hundred years ago by the first occu- 
pants of the soil. 

The records of the club are not full enough to fur- 
nish an answer to all the questions which naturally arise. 
Although the men who are charged with complicity in 
the Spanish conspiracy were prominent members, there 
is not a word in the minutes or on any fragment of 
paper to suggest Spanish interests or influences. Gen- 
eral James Wilkinson was about Danville more or less 
during the four years the club flourished, but his name 
and his schemes are as unknown in these records as if 
he had never lived. 

The thorough study which the Constitution of the 
United States received indicates a lively and sincere 
interest in the Union. The numerous questions dis- 
cussed all point to statehood like that east of the 

Thomas Todd, Harry Innes, William Hughes, Robert Craddock, Samuel 
McDowell, George Caldwell, S. Fisher, James Speed, R. Mosby. 

*See "Wilderness Road," by the present writer. Professor Ranck, of 
Lexington, Kentucky, has also written a most interesting account of this 
event, entitled "The Traveling Church." 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. i6i 

mountains. The direction of thought was all toward 
a government that would secure freedom. The greater 
number of the members had served in freedom's cause 
against the tyranny of a foreign power. Every indi- 
cation is that they were studious to build a purely 
American commonwealth. Such a spirit was incompat- 
ible with intriguing with Spaniards, and is circumstan- 
tial evidence against such aspersions.* 

When we remember that the club was organized for 
the study of those political questions which were urgent 
in Kentucky at the time, and that it existed through 
the years of the early conventions at the town of Dan- 
ville, where they were all held, and recall how numerously 
the club was represented in each one, it is easy to believe 
it was the source of a powerful influence in the work 
of those conventions. And when we recall that the 
first Constitution of the State was made at Danville 
in 1792, and signed by Samuel McDowell, President, and 
Thomas Todd, Secretary of the Convention, and that 
other members of the club were members of that con- 
vention, and that the same questions which came before 

*Judge Humphrey, in his address, says: "Of one thing we have the 
strongest evidence, that these men with one exception, Sebastian, were intent 
only on following that path which would lead to the good of the whole people. 
There is an absence of self-seeking, a presence of devoted patriotism which 
can not be too highly commended." 



i62 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

the convention had been faithfully studied in The Polit- 
ical Club, it is easy still to trace its influence. 

The credit of making the first constitution is usually 
given to George Nicholas. Butler calls him the author 
of the constitution. Colonel Brown, in his Political 
Beginnings, says it may be fairly regarded as his pro- 
duction.* Such expressions state the case too strongly. 
The constitution was the work of a convention, not of 
one man. In that convention sat Harry Innes, Benja- 
min Logan, Alexander S. Bullitt, Matthew Walton, Caleb 
Wallace, Robert Breckinridge, David Rice, Isaac Shelby, 
and thirty-five others, all chosen for their ability and 
thorough knowledge of the needs of the Kentucky 
people. The greater portion of them had been in Ken- 
tucky from eight to twelve years. Logan had been a 
tower of strength to the settlements from their begin- 
ning in 1775, a period of seventeen years. Nicholas 
came out in 1788, four years before the convention. It 
would seem unlikely that the wisdom and experience 
of the convention should go for nothing. It has been 
already shown that The Political Club appointed a 
committee to draft a form of government adapted to 
the needs of Kentuck}' as early as February 17, 1787. 

Huuiphrev Marshall, in his Historj' of Kentucky, says: "If the Consti- 
tution of Kentucky could be ascribed to any one man, it should doubtless 
be to Colonel George Nicholas." 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 163 

It is a noticeable fact that the convention was engaged 
upon its work only eighteen days, from April 2d to 
April 19, 1792. This would indicate that some persons 
had hitherto been engaged upon that important work 
and had laid the foundations. There are indications 
of the work of the club. We have seen that the method 
of choosing State Senators and the Governor was by a 
College of Electors, which method was the one proposed 
by the club. Butler says, "The general character of 
this constitution evidently bears a strong similitude to 
that of the United States," and attributes that fact to 
the publication of the Federalist.* 

The study of the Federal Constitution in The Polit- 
ical Club bore its natural fruits in the construction of 
the one of 1792 for Kentucky. That the Senate should 
choose its own speakers was according to ideas of the 
club. An extended bill of rights was also a feature 
which the club had deemed desirable. 

'Judge Robertson, speaking in 1S43, before the adoption of the third 
constitution, says of the first : " The adoption of a political constitution in the 
wilds of Kentucky by the free will of a majority of its free inhabitants was 
a novel and interesting spectacle. The first constitution, the production 
principally of George Nicholas, was a very good one, certainly equal if not 
superior to any other State constitution then existing. As it provided for 
another convention at the end of seven years, a new constitution was adopted 
in 1799. Both constitutions were alike — in outline the same. . . . There 
may be reason to doubt whether the last is altogether better than the first." 



i64 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

As before stated, it was the constitution - making 
period in our country's history. Ten years before The 
Political Club was organized the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence caused the Colonies to frame, each for itself, 
a form of government adapted to the requirements of 
the new condition of freedom. Mr. Br3'ce says: "The 
colonial charters naturally became the State constitutions. 
In most cases they were remodeled with large altera- 
tions bj' the revolting Colony." 

Each Colony, therefore, had something to build on. 
Her people were to a large extent coherent, made so by 
slow growth and by common suffering through a long 
period of time. But in 1786 the problem in Kentucky 
was unlike any before known. Between eighty and 
ninety thousand inhabitants were settled within her 
borders, drawn thither in large measure within the 
three or four years just preceding, and the numbers 
were rapidly increasing. How urgent was the need of 
a local State government imagination can readily picture 
and the records of the time fully attest. 

At first Kentucky was a single county; then it was 
made into three, then nine; but all the time the govern- 
ment was at Williamsburg, Virginia, five hundred miles 
distant on an air line, and twice that far by waj' of the 
Wilderness Road through the desolate and dangerous 
regions intervening. 



THE POLITICAL CLUB. 165 

Who would make for Kentucky a local government? 
How was it to be brought about? What sort of gov- 
ernment would be adapted to the wants of the multitude 
of people suddenly collected in the Kentucky / settle- 
ments? Who would study the questions involved, and 
after forming conclusions be able to exert an influence? 
The demands of the hour were met in The Political 
Club. Its singular appositeness to these demands, in 
the quality of its membership, its location, and its dis- 
cussions, all point so directly to the iirst organic law of 
the new commonwealth, the conclusion is irresistible 
that its work entered into the construction of the first 
constitution. 

A number of men in the club by official position, as 
well as by talents and character, were recognized leaders 
of public opinion. They were expected to guide the 
course of events. To do so intelligently and successfully 
they must study the problems and be prepared at every 
step to satisfy the expectations of friends and meet the 
objections of the querulous or unfriendly. They found 
in The Political Club the means of enlightenment and 
acquisition of knowledge which nothing else could have 
afforded. Week after week, for four years, these faithful 
students of political science, most of them heads of 
families and engrossed with personal duties, devoted 



i66 THE POLITICAL CLUB. 

their time and centered their thought in preparing the 
elemental material of a government for the maintenance 
of internal peace and the security of their liberties. Like 
the hewers of wood in the mountains and the stone 
squarers in the quarries they prepared the beams and 
the granite to be built into a new temple dedicated to 
freedom, which has been called "The Earliest Political 
Fabric after the Revolutionary War." 

By their work they illustrated in the far West the 
great idea embodied in the legend placed on the seal of 
the United States by the Continental Congress during 
the struggle for liberty, aud re-adopted under the Con- 
stitution of 1789: Novus ordo seclorum. 

There was a tremendous meaning in the words, "A 
new order of the ages." It was a new thing for a people 
to provide their own government, according to their 
own wishes, without let or hindrance of king or titled 
nobility. The same forces which led the Revolutionary 
fathers to break away from old ideas and establish our 
free republic moved the fathers of the Commonwealth 
of Kentucky when they laid her foundations. 



NOTE. 

It is stated on page 21 that the location of the court near 
Crow's Station gave rise to the laying out of Danville in 1784. 
It is also stated on page 25 that Danville was laid out in 1781. 
There is some confusion as to the date of the founding of Dan- 
ville. Collins says it was laid out by Walker Daniel in 1781. He 
also says it was founded when the court was removed to the 
vicinity of Crow's Station, which was in 1783. Marshall says Dan- 
ville arose from the fact that the court was located at that place. 

The Act of the Virginia Legislature establishing the town of 
Danville was passed December 4, 1787. It recites that Walker 
Daniel had in his lifetime laid off a part of seventy- six acres 
for a town at that place. (Walker Daniel was killed by Indians 
in August, 1784.) The trustees named in the Act were John 
Jouett, William McDowell, Harry Innes, Christopher Greenup, 
Samuel McDowell, senior, Abraham Irvine, George Muter, William 
Kennedy. It will be observed that of the eight trustees six were 
members of The Political Club. 

Danville is mentioned as a town by John Filson, who wrote 
in 1784. It may be that Walker Daniel laid out the town in 1781, 
but the town itself began when the court was removed to that 
place in the latter part of 1783. 

The growth of Danville must have been very rapid. A letter 
written to the Secretary of The Political Club, dated November 6, 
1786, has been preserved, cautioning the young man against the 
gaiety of that place. The writer says: "How do you like the life 
you lead in Danville? Are you not drawn into excesses? Keep 
no bad hours or company. You deserve the character you have 
of a prudent man for your years, yet I fear the levity of that 
place may lead you astray." 

It is difficult to think of Danville pos.sessing the allurements 
of a city as early as 1786. 



til^' 



PUBLICATIONS OF THE FILSON CLUB. 



1. JOHN FILSON, the first historian of Kentucky. 5\n account of his life and 
writings, prepared from original sources. By Reuben T. Durrett. Illustrated by a newly 
discovered portrait, a fac-simile of one of his letters, and a photo-lithographic reproduction 
of his original map of Kentucky, which was issued with his " History of Kentucke," in 
1784. 4to, pp. 132. 1884. Out of print. 

2. THE WILDERNESS ROAD. A description of the routes of travel by which 
the pioneers and early settlers first came to Kentucky. By Thomas Speed. Map. 4to, 
pp. 85. 1886. $2.00 

3. THE PIONEER PRESS OF KENTUCKY. From the printing of the first paper 
west of the Alleghanies, August 17, 1787, to the establishment of the "Daily Press," in 
1830. By William Henry Perrin. Illustrated with a fac-simile of "The Farmer's Library" 
and "The Kentucke Gazette," a cut of the first printing-house, and portraits of John Brad- 
ford, Shadrach Penn, and George D. Prentice. 4to, pp. 93. 1888. $2.00 

4. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE CALEB WALLACE. Some time a Jus- 
tice of the Court of Appeals of the State of Kentucky. By William H. Whitsitt. 4to, pp. 
151. 1888. $2.00 

5. AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, Louisville, Ky. Pre- 
pared for the semi-centennial celebration, October 6, 1889. By Reuben T. Durrett. Illus- 
trated with two plates of the church and portraits of Rev. William Jackson and Rev. 
Edmund T. Perkins, D. D. Small 4to, pp. 75. 1889. $2.00 

6. THE POLITICAL BEGINNINGS OF KENTUCKY. A narrative of public 
events bearing on the history of that State up to the time of its admission into the Amer- 
ican Union. By John Mason Brown. Portrait. 4to, pp. 263. 1889. $2.00 

7. THE CENTENARY OF KENTUCKY. Proceedings at the celebration by the 
Filson Club, Wednesday, June i, 1892, of the one hundreth anniversary of the admission 
of Kentucky as an independent State into the Federal Union. Containing the historical 
address of Reuben T. Durrett, the poem of Henry T. Stanton, with portrait of each, the 
general proceedings, a sketch of the Filson Club, and a list of its members. 4to, pp. 200. 
1892. $2.00 

8. THE CENTENARY OF LOUISVILLE. A paper read before the Southern 
Historical Association, May i, 1880, in commemoration of the one hundreth anniversar)' of 
the birth of Louisville ; giving a history of the origin of the city and its progress for an 
hundred years, with the names of its founders and rare manuscripts relating to its pioneers 
never before published. By Reuben T. Durrett. Illustrated with a likeness of the author 
and likenesses of Sieur La Salle, the discoverer, and Gen. Clark, the founder of the city of 
Louisville. 4to, pp. 200. 1893. $2.00 

9. THE POLITICAL CLUB, being an account of a society which existed at Danville, 
Ky., from 1786 to 1790, composed of leading citizens of that date in Kentucky. The Club 
was engaged in discussing the questions of that time, but no mention of it is found in 
any history prior to the discovery of the Club papers. This account is from the original 
records of the Club recently found. By Thomas Speed, Secretary of the Filson Club. 
4to, pp. 180. 1894. $2.00 

FOR SALE BY 

JOHN P. MORTON & COMPANY, Louisville, Ky. 
ROBERT CLARKE & CO., Cincinnati, O. 



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